As You Wish
by NyanWolf
Summary: Peter's day didn't exactly go to plan. He managed to offend all of his friends, except Luke, and Aunt May is sick. Great. But when the Wish Master appears, Peter makes a wish that might just ruin his life. Just another day in the life of your friendly neighborhood screw-up!(OC forms closed) Hinted SpideyXTiger
1. Wish Granted

**Okay so everyone else has been starting new stories and that inspired me to make my own. I'm really excited about this and I hope you guys enjoy! So without further ado...As You Wish.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own USM**

* * *

"Go to school, Peter. You can't keep worrying about me," Aunt May coughed slightly as she sat up in bed. Peter was stone-faced at her side.

"No Aunt May. I'm not leaving until you're better," He said simply.

"Just like your uncle. The doctor said I was fine Peter."

"I don't care. You're still sick."

"Peter I have been taking care of _you_ for years, I can handle a little cold." Aunt May chuckled.

"The flu is not a little cold!"

"Just go to school Pete. I'm sure you don't want to watch an old lady sleep all day, _again,_ " She commanded. Peter sighed. His aunt's eyes burned into him. They had been arguing for the past seven minutes, and Aunt May was looking worn. He hung his head, and slowly got up. He stalked out of the room with the sounds of coughing behind him.

He knew he shouldn't worry, but...she was getting old. Pretty soon, a flu would be...could be...

 _No! Don't think like that. She'll be fine. What could happen in the next six hours...plus another four or five for training...and probably most of the night for missions..._

Peter's eye twitched.

He walked out of the house, grabbing his bag, and started walking to school. He didn't really feel like web-slinging today.

"LATE!" His first period teacher yelled at him. Peter glanced at the clock. Only ten minutes late, a new record.

"Sorry Mr. Blackwell," He muttered, slumping down in his seat, next to Ava. He braced himself for the nagging that was about to happen. Nothing.

"Um, Ava? This is the part where you tell me to be more responsible and I distract you with brilliant puns..." He reminded her. Ava sighed.

"Sorry Pete...I was just thinking..."

Peter stared at her. Inside his brain, little chibi Spideys were running around an office, tearing up files and smashing computers. Red lights flashed as they screamed.

"She said sorry! She said sorry! The world is ending! The sky is falling! Run!"

Peter blinked and shook his head.

"Did you just say sorry?" He asked.

"Shut up Webs," Ava said sadly, her brown eyes full of unshed tears. Peter's instincts told him that girl, plus tears, equals panic.

"Don't cry!" He whispered. Ava looked at him, lips quivering. He saw Mr. Blackwell looking in their direction.

"Uh...we can talk after class. Meet me at my locker," He said hurriedly.

"Fine," Ava grumbled. Then she smiled, "Thanks."

"What is the world coming to?" Peter moaned quietly.

* * *

Peter waltzed through the hallways. Class had gone smoothly and Ava hadn't started spontaneously crying in the middle of it. And to top it off, he had gotten an A on his English test! All he had to do now was wait for Ava at his locker.

 _Like a date..._

Peter grinned to himself, entertaining the idea.

Yup, everything was going to plan.

Until he felt someone else's pointy folder slam into his stomach and his books flew out of his hands.

"Watch it Web-Head!" Sam yelled, bending down to pick up his fallen stuff.

"You ran into _me_!" Peter said indignantly. He handed Sam his pencil case.

"Whatever," He muttered.

"What's wrong?" Peter suddenly asked.

"I don't know, nothing I guess."

Peter raised an eyebrow.

"I just...I kind of liked staying with you and your aunt. It reminded me of my own family," Sam sighed. Peter smiled gently. He placed a hand on Sam's shoulder, ignoring the weird looks of other passing students.

"You know you can come over anytime."

"I know. But I still miss them," Sam muttered. "Tell anyone about this and I will blast you into the sun!" He yelled, moping into a different hallway. Peter shrugged, mood slightly dampened, and continued walking. The bell rang.

 _Great! Now I'm going to be late for my next class! I still have to get my stuff from my locker and..._

"AVA!" He yelled suddenly, running to his locker. The hallways were quickly emptying and Ava as nowhere to be found. Instead, there was a note on his locker.

 **My dad.**

Peter face palmed. Today was the anniversary of her dad's death! He shoved the note into his pocket and grabbed a few things from the locker before sprinting to his next class.

Ava was not in this one, he would have to wait until lunch before he saw her again, unless he could find her in a hallway. He groaned quietly. But not quietly enough.

"What ails you friend?" Danny asked from the seat to his left. Peter brightened, Danny always knew what to do. You just had to decipher his speech first.

"I was supposed to meet Ava at my locker to talk about her dad's anniversary and I sort of...came too late," Peter said it all in one breath. Danny considered.

"You have a habit of being 'too late'," Danny noticed.

"Yeah thanks Fortune Cookie."

"Is it her father's marriage anniversary...or his death?" Danny asked awkwardly. Peter gave him a look that said: we're superheroes, what do you think?

"Oh."

"Yeah," Peter fingered the note in his pocket, feeling like the world's biggest screw up.

"My own father's anniversary will be in a month. As will my mother's," Danny said quietly. Peter rolled his eyes, not wanting to be mean, but also not wanting to tolerate this much sadness in one day..

"Let me guess, you miss them more than anything and wish you had someone to talk to about it?" Danny looked hurt. He offered no more advice, sitting very stiffly and staring straight ahead at the teacher. Peter immediately regretted his words. He figured he would give Danny some time to cool off since the blond teen didn't seem like he wanted anything more to do with Pete.

The rest of class went by painfully slowly. Danny didn't acknowledge Peter no matter how many times he whispered apologies. Finally the bell rang and Peter was able to intercept Danny just outside the door.

"Look, Danny! I'm sorry okay!" Peter pleaded. Danny glared, green eyes flashing. Peter back away slightly. Danny's glares could rival Fury's. Danny shoved past him and hurried towards his own locker. Peter sighed.

Ava was waiting at his locker.

"Ava! I am so sorry! Sam ran into me and we talked and then it was too late and...sorry," Peter explained. Ava scoffed.

"Yeah, I figured. Thanks for nothing Parker," She said, and then sashaying away. Peter banged his head against his locker.

"Um, are you okay?" Luke sidled up next to him. Peter didn't look up.

"Guess we're both having a bad day," Luke sympathized. Peter's fingers twitched into claws. He gritted his teeth and put on his sweetest, most patient voice, which sounded like a possessed doll in a horror movie.

"You. Don't. Say. Luke," He said slowly. "Because. It seems. Like everyone! Has! Been! Having! A! Bad! DAY!" He yelled.

"Sweet Christmas. I was just a little bummed over-"

"Your parents! You're bummed over your parents! Just like everyone else! Well news flash! I can't do anything about it!" Peter screamed. Luke cocked his head. Peter saw he was on the verge of getting mad, or laughing. He picked the latter.

"Dude! What are you talking about? I was just upset that I got a D on my English test, you seriously need to chill," Luke snorted. Peter froze mid-rant.

"Really?"

"Uh...yeah?"

"Oh. Heh, heh. Sorry Luke," Peter twiddled his thumbs nervously.

"Well in that case, I need to go. Places to be, people to comfort," Peter said, turning away.

"Luke, come on. We will be late for gym," Danny came around the corner with his gym bag. He saw Peter and his eyes narrowed. Luke looked between the two of them.

"Um...Am I missing something?"

"I might've said something I shouldn't have and Danny is mad at me," Peter sulked. Danny sniffed. Luke smirked.

"Well, I can't help you dude," Luke giggled. Danny nodded.

"What? Why! Just tell him to forgive me!"

Luke turned to Danny.

"He wants you to forgive him." Luke told him. Danny shook his head.

"Danny says no."

"Are you serious!"

"Hang on," Luke leaned into Danny, pretending to whisper with him. "Uh huh? Uh huh? Yep, got it. Pete!"

"What?"

"He wants me to tell you that patience is a virtue. Later!" Luke waved as he and Danny walked away. Peter seethed.

"That's it. I am so done," He muttered. The rest of the school day was spent with Harry and MJ. Finally Peter was relaxing, until school ended and he found himself in the Tricarrier.

"Spiderman! I need everyone to come to the conference room immediately for briefing!" Fury shouted through Spidey's communicator. Peter pulled on his mask and web-slung to the conference room.

He walked in to find a bunch of slouching teammates. Danny wouldn't look at him, Ava glared at him and wiped at her eye plates, Sam was a broken record player of sighs, and Luke...actually Luke wasn't that bad. He just look bored and mildly annoyed. Peter groaned and took his place at the long table.

Fury walked in a moment later.

"What is wrong with you all?" He yelled in a less-than-sympathetic tone. Silence.

"Fine. Don't tell me. Your mission is to find this guy," Fury pulled down a screen with a picture of a hooded figure in a light purple cloak that completely obscured his face with darkness. Only white marble-like eyes poked out from the shadows of his hood.

Out of his head and arms, grew white horns, dripping with neon green goo.

"He calls himself the Wish Master. Last known location: Times Square," Fury said. Peter stared into the Wish Master's white doll eyes. A shiver went up his spine.

"What are his powers?" Ava asked dully. Fury shot her a look.

"We don't know yet, that's part of your mission. Report his abilities and try to take him down," Fury said. The teens nodded.

"Good. Now go get 'em!" Fury offered a small smile and quickly walked out of the room. Peter sighed.

"Great. Let's just go then...I guess..." He said, his mind wandering to Aunt May.

"Fine by me," Ava said, getting up.

* * *

Peter and his team had been walking for ages. On the streets, along rooftops, and everywhere around Times Square. And still no sign of the Wish Master.

"This is taking forever!" Sam complained.

"Forever is relative to your own conscious ignorance! Seconds can be forever while forever can take seconds!" A voice said. Everyone looked to Danny, who shrugged and shook his head. Sam suddenly cried out, swerving in mid-air.

"Wait! No!"

"Bucket-Head! What's wrong?" Peter yelled. Sam was flying crazily now, faster and then slower.

"We're back at school! There's the science lab! Wait! There it is again! And...again? Everything is the same! I'm going in circles!" Sam panicked.

"What? Nova! Snap out of it! We're not in school!" Ava said. Sam spiraled up and then down, diving towards the concrete.

"Nova!" Peter shot webbing at him, pushing him to the side and webbing him to a building. Sam struggled, deliriously yelling about passing the science lab again.

"Forever and ever! Round and round!" The same voice spoke from nowhere. "Wish granted!"

"Wish Master!" Luke growled. Danny concentrated, lighting his fists. Peter saw him lunge forward and swing his fist at nothing. A second later, a large dent appeared in the wall next to Sam. The purple-clad villain materialized, coughing and slowly rising.

"Impressive! What's your secret?" He laughed, flying up into the air. Peter shot webs at him, but they seemed to go right through him.

"Two words, Shao Lao," Danny snarled, leaping up to punch him. Wish Master caught him by the neck.

"Iron Fist!" Peter shouted, bouncing off a wall and kicking Wish Master in his hood. It was surprisingly hollow-feeling. Wish Master didn't waver. Peter tried pulling on Danny with his webs. Danny grunted, squirming out of the web. His body went limp and Wish Master dropped him into Luke's arms.

"Fist? Dude!" Luke shouted. Danny's eyes opened, he screamed.

"Not again! Where? why! No! I already defeated you! I am worthy!" Danny squealed, gazing up at Luke in fear and confusion.

"What?"

"I beat you once, I'm not afraid!" Danny yelled, slamming a fist into Luke's side. The big teen dropped him in surprise.

"Dragons in the dungeons of your mind!" Wish Master said giddily. "Wish granted!"

"What is wrong with everyone!" Ava scoffed, slashing at Wish Master and back flipping onto him. He laughed shrilly. Ava pulled off his hood, trying to give Peter a target.

There was nothing there. Only two white doll eyes, floating in the space where a face should be.

"Whoa..." Pete trailed off.

"No, no, no! That's not nice!" Wish Master said. Before anyone could process how he was able to speak without a mouth, he grabbed Ava and threw her into Peter.

"We've gotta stop meeting like this," He chuckled.

"Don't talk to me Web-Head," She yelled, shutting him down. Meanwhile, Danny was still fighting Luke, pinning him down on the ground and raising his fist for a final strike. And suddenly he was webbed up next to Sam.

"Silence is the sound of madness! Wish granted!"

Ava cocked her head.

"You'll have to do better that!" She yelled. Then she yelled it again, louder. And again. Finally her eye plates widened and she started shrieking.

"I can't hear!" I'm deaf!"

"Tiger, you're fine!" Luke moaned. He was seriously annoyed now. Wish Master floated to the ground.

"Powerman! Sling shot!" Peter yelled, he attached a web to Luke and swung him around, building momentum.

"You're meat!" Luke cried, rushing Wish Master with a fist outstretched. He allowed Luke to hit him and flew back into a building, leaving an imprint. Luke smashed his fists into him over and over while Peter tied him up and kicked him in the face for good measure.

"Too much meat will make you sick! Wish granted!" The villain cackled. Peter glanced at Luke, ready to shoot him into the wall. Luke swayed.

"Ugh! Rotten meat!" He held his nose and fell to his knees, gagging.

"Spidey? Where are you? I'm in a meat locker! Can't breathe!" He said. Peter glared at the Wish Master.

"What are you doing? Change them back!" He commanded.

"If you wish... _or_..."

"Or nothing! Make them stop!"

"But you still haven't made your wish...go ahead. Anything you want. I'll grant it and change back your friends too. All you have to do is say it," Wish Master's voice was buttery and low.

"No. Change. Them. Back!" Peter said, but there was uncertainty in his tone.

"Think about it Spiderman. You can have anything you want! Anything in the world. You could even redo your day! Your week! Whatever you want!"

Peter thought about it. He wasn't getting anywhere by force. And it would be nice to have a wish. He glanced at his friends. Sam was twitching and crying and laughing at the same time, mumbling about going in circles. Danny was jerking in his restraints, shouting at dragons in Chinese.

Ava was on the floor, holding her ears and yelling nonsense to herself. Luke was green, about to be sick. Peter sighed, smiling a little.

"Well...we've all been so upset today..." Peter tried to phrase it correctly. Wish Master's white eyes glowed red. Peter heard the smile in his voice.

"Fresh starts and new beginnings! Wish. Granted," And with that, he went invisible and Peter saw the webs holding him go limp. A resonating laugh echoed all around him.

Peter's vision went red. The last thing he saw were those two, glowing eyes.

* * *

 **Please leave a review! I have the next chapter written and I'll update very soon. Sorry for the cliffhanger! ^u^**

 **Oh! Important! Please send in some OCs, for the next chapters. Fill out the form below in the reviews!**

 **Name:**

 **Super Hero Name:**

 **Gender:**

 **Physical Appearance:**

 **Personality:**

 **Powers/Abilities:**

 _ **Brief**_ **Backstory:**

 **Love interest on USM team:**

 **(This is important) How would they adapt to a slightly apocalyptic scenario?**


	2. Best Wish Ever?

**Okay so this was supposed to go out at around 10 am, but Fanfiction was down and I couldn't do anything. Also, thanks so much to all you awesome people who reviewed and sent me OCs. I am still picking them and they won't start coming into play until maybe the third or fourth chapter. So...yeah. Enjoy! This chapter is Danny and Luke, next chapter will be Sam and Ava!**

* * *

Peter woke up to his phone ringing. He rubbed his eyes and groaned. Something in the back of his mind didn't add up.

 _I don't remember going to sleep..._

He picked up the phone, expecting MJ.

"Hello?"

"Yo! Parker! Where are you? The match starts in twenty minutes!" An angry voice yelled over the phone. Peter scratched his head.

"Uh...who is this?"

"Who is this!? Kid! What is wrong with you!? This is your boss telling you to get over the big fight immediately! Papa needs some money in the bank!"

"I'm sorry...I don't understand. What fight?" Peter asked. A sliver of memory was rising, but he couldn't quite grasp it.

"Are ya kidding me? Cause this isn't the time for joking! You're Spiderman!" Peter jumped a foot in the air.

"What? How did you know?"

"GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW! OR I'LL SEND BONESAW TO COME PICK YOU UP!" The voice screamed. Peter froze. Bonesaw. That was the name of the wrestler that Pete had fought on the night of Uncle Ben's death. Suddenly Peter remembered Wish Master. He had wished to help everyone, but he thought he was going to redo his day. Not...not his life!

"But if I'm still a wrestler..." He said out loud.

"Pete! Come on! It's breakfast time and I want to show you a new trick!" Another voice rang out from downstairs. Peter's heart skipped a beat.

"Uncle Ben!" He yelled, throwing off the covers and dressing quickly. He ran down the stairs and saw his uncle sipping coffee at the table. He glanced up and smiled at Peter.

"Uncle Ben! You're here! You're alive!" Peter rambled, smothering the old man in a tight hug. Uncle Ben chuckled.

"Of course I am Peter, what else would I be?"

"I...I...But..." Peter realized that Uncle Ben wouldn't know about his death, or Spiderman, or Wish Master. It had never happened. Uncle Ben clapped Pete on the back.

"It's okay Pete, it was just a dream. Dreams can't hurt you. I'm still me and you're still you," He said. Peter pulled out of the hug, a grin on his face.

"Aw, isn't that sweet! My two men! Now who wants pancakes?" Aunt May walked in holding a tray of fresh pancakes, oozing with syrup and whipped cream. Peter looked at her, she looked so much younger, radiant. There were no stress lines acquired from hours of worrying over money. There were no tear streaks from mourning Uncle Ben. She was happy.

"Morning Aunt May!" He greeted her. She looked at him suspiciously.

"Someone is happy today. Are you finally going to ask MJ out?" She giggled. Peter blushed. He would never do that. MJ was just a friend. And even if he was oing to ask someone out...he was Spiderman. He couldn't.

 _But I'm not Spiderman anymore am I? I never had a reason to be..._

A voice in his head nagged at him, he wasn't going to spoil his breakfast with Uncle Ben. So what if New York had one less superhero? They still had SHIELD.

 _SHIELD!_

"Hey! I've gotta get to school! I need to find Ava and the guys!" He suddenly said. Peter couldn't wait to tell them about Uncle Ben.

"Hold on there Peter, it's Saturday!" Aunt May laughed, setting the plate in front of him. Peter grinned in embarrassment and sat back down.

"So, who's Ava?" Uncle Ben asked. Peter stopped.

"Well...she's a girl...and she goes to my school...and she's really strict."

"Is she pretty?"

"She's not ugly..."

"So you like her right?"

"No! I mean...I don't know...Maybe?" Peter fumbled. Aunt May laughed.

"Stop it Ben, you're making him uncomfortable."

"I know!" Ben turned to Peter, "You know, you kids don't appreciate awkwardness. You all hate it! I think it's great. Awkwardness is one of the most entertaining things ever!"

Peter rolled his eyes and smiled.

"You remember Ava, right Aunt May?"

"No dear, I don't think you've introduced us," Aunt May said. Peter cocked his head.

"Really? What about Sam? And Luke and Danny?" Peter asked. Uncle Ben shook his head, amused.

"Sounds like you've gotten more popular."

Peter smiled oddly. It made sense that Uncle Ben didn't know his friends, but Aunt May?

 _But you're not Spiderman anymore. You never met them either._

It hit him. He hastily got up.

"Um...Thanks for the pancakes Aunt May. I need to go, my friends and I have an early movie to catch," He lied. Aunt May and Uncle Ben looked at him strangely.

"Ok Peter...have fun. Maybe you can bring Ava over afterwards so we can meet her," She said.

"Hey Pete," Uncle Ben reached towards Peter's ear and pulled out a twenty dollar bill. He handed it to Peter. "Be safe."

Peter smiled.

"Thanks Uncle Ben. I love you guys," He said. Then he walked out of the house. Nothing looked out of place. Everything was like it always was. Peter looked up, wanting to web-sling around. But he never made a costume, other than his wrestling one, and he wasn't about to wear that again. So he was forced to walk.

 _Right...where can I find my team...I guess I can't really just walk into SHIELD anymore..._

He was still thinking when he saw a horde of paparazzi crowding around a limousine. They were yelling and asking questions and snapping pictures. Peter stared as the limo sped away, nearly running down a few reporters. He decided to follow it in hopes of finding Harry at least.

Peter sighed, watching it careen down the streets. He glanced at his wrist. Maybe just this once...

He checked that he was wearing his web shooter, it was his old one. He took off his jacket and draped it over his face.

"Here goes nothing!" He said to himself.

Pete fired his webs and shot into the air. Suddenly New York was below him, he let out a scream of joy. Finally everything was going right! Maybe Wish Master wasn't so bad. The limo was in plain sight, weaving through the roads, the crowd of reporters ran after it, buzzing like angry mosquitoes.

Even Harry had gotten more popular! This was the greatest wish ever! Peter glanced at the Jumbo Screen. J. Jonah. Jameson was shouting about criminals in the city and economy. For the first time since Peter could remember, Spiderman wasn't even mentioned!

"WOOOHOOO!" Peter flipped through the city. Then Jameson had to ruin his parade.

"Oscorp isn't doing too well, dropping ranks as competitor Rand Co is rising dramatically. Speculation leads us to think that it might even rival Stark Industries soon enough!"

Peter almost fell. Harry wasn't more popular, he was going down the drain! No wonder so many people were gathering! And Rand Co was Danny's company, wasn't it? Peter knit his brow. But...how? Danny was a hero. He never went to his company. Ever!

The limo stopped at Rand Co. Peter dropped down and removed the jacket from his face. He crept towards the vehicle and the people around it. The front door opened and a burly man in a dark suit and earpiece walked to the middle. He opened the passenger door. A teenager in a suit stepped out.

He had slightly tanned skin and blond hair that was slicked down to his head. He wore sunglasses, but Peter recognized his smile.

"Danny!" He yelled. But everyone else was yelling the same thing.

"Danny! It's me! Peter! Danny!" Peter screamed. Danny didn't even acknowledge the crowd, smoothly walking forward and into the building. The crowd collectively sighed, starting to disperse. Peter shoved his way to the doors, only to find his path blocked by the burly man.

"Um hi. I need to see Danny. We're close friends, just tell him it's Peter," Pete said. The man shook his head.

"Mr. Rand doesn't want to be disturbed by people claiming to be his _close friends._ "

"But I am! Ask me anything about him!"

"What are his parents' names?"

"Um..." Peter stopped. Danny had never told him what his parents' names were.

"Everyone knows that! Leave the premise or you'll be forcefully escorted."

"Wait! That's not fair! I said ask me about Danny! Please!" The man shook his head again.

"Kid, I'm warning you."

"Please!" Peter gave him his patented Parker puppy eyes, "I can tell you who his friends are! Um, Luke Cage is his best friend, along with Sam Alexander, Ava Ayaala, me, MJ Watson, and Harry Osborn!"

The man laughed. "Did you say Luke Cage?"

"Yes!"

The man laughed even harder.

"What?"

Suddenly his earpiece buzzed, the man answered it.

"Hello? Yes sir Mr. Rand. I'll send him up," The man ended the call and turned to Peter.

"Alright, go on in."

"Yes!" Peter ran in and made for the elevators. He guessed Danny would probably be in his penthouse. The elevator doors slid open. Peter's eyes bulged. It was a massive living room even bigger than Harry's with plush red carpets and dark wood furniture. He stepped in, feeling a little embarrassed of his low status.

"Hello," Danny was suddenly in front of him, still in his pristine suit, the sunglasses were removed.

"Hey dude, what are you doing here?" Peter asked. Danny looked down on him with a patronizing expression, he made Peter feel stupid.

"I live here, _dude_ ," He sniffed haughtily. Peter stepped back.

"What? No you don't. You live in the Tricarrier! You're one of my best friends! Remember?"

"No. You aren't. I live here. And the only reason I called you up here is because you clam to know about my competitor, Harry Osborn."

"Danny...you don't care about competition. You're a hero. A Kun'Lunian warrior and stuff! Don't tell me you don't remember Kun'Lun! You're parents died trying to get you there!" Peter said urgently. Danny scoffed.

"Oh yes, and on the way there I turned into a fairy and fought a magic dragon," He said dryly.

"You did! Well...not the fairy part...but you did fight a dragon!"

"You know what, this was a mistake, you're obviously insane. Take your leave now," Danny pushed Peter back into the elevator. "And by the way, my parents are completely alive, as is my mentor, Mr. Meachum."

Peter's eyes widened.

"But Meachum is the one that killed your dad! You have to remember! Danny!" Peter yelled as he was pushed further into the shaft. "What about your friends? What about Luke?"

Danny laughed.

"Hmm...you are very confused aren't you? You're wasting my time imbecile, goodbye," Danny said as the doors closed and Peter was on his way back down.

Determined not to waste the visit, Peter got off just before the bottom. He walked along the cream painted hallways. Paintings of men spanned the walls. There was one of an old man with a dirty blond beard and dark eyes.

The second to last painting was of a middle-aged man who looked strikingly like an older Danny. Peter read the name plate. Wendell Rand. Danny's father. The latest picture was of Danny himself. His smile was fake and impatient. His painted green eyes looked colder than Peter remembered.

 _His parents never died...he never went to Kun'Lun...now he's some cold businessman...What did I do?_

Peter continued walking, poking his head into different rooms. Mostly conference rooms, lounges, and closets full of cleaning supplies. Peter heard a rattling sound behind him and swiveled around so hard he almost fell. A large cart full of brooms and mops and buckets came clacking around the corner.

Peter's eyes widened upon seeing who was pushing the cart.

"Luke!" He screamed. Luke looked at him. He didn't look any different! He was still wearing his grey hoodie and jeans. Peter prayed there was nothing wrong with him too.

"Uh...do I know you?"

"Yeah dude! It's me Peter!" Peter looked at Luke's blank expression. He decided to try a new strategy.

"Luke, how are your parents?" He asked cautiously. Luke cocked his head.

"Um, they're fine...why?"

"Are they still scientists?"

"Duh! They work for Mr. Rand. I'm supposed o help out in the lab, but they send me to do errands because they don't want me to mess anything up. Mr. Rand is scary when you mess stuff up," Luke sighed.

"What?" Peter stuttered. He started seeing the differences. This Luke was thinner, wimpy even. _He never got given any serum..._

He didn't have his usual confidence, or his warm kindness. He actually seemed kind of bitter. Peter shook his head, mouth opening and closing.

"I've gotta go," He said, running past Luke. Danny's ancestors grimaced all around him. Peter noticed a new picture that he hadn't seen before. It was labeled: best employee. And it depicted a wiry man with a large, mischievous grin and dark, evil eyes. Peter judged that he was ruthless. He read the name plate as he dived into the elevator.

Harold Meachum.

* * *

 **Hope you guys enjoyed! And Wish Master will be back in the next chapter. Also, this story will be updated a bit sporadically, I don't really have a schedule for it yet. Please review and anyway...**

 **Wolf out...**


	3. Punishments and Black Tigers

**Well guys, sorry for the really long wait, but I finally updated! I do have all the OCs picked out and they will be introduced next chapter! This chapter is dedicated to Ava and Sam! Enjoy!**

 **Also, Nova'sGirl, I hope you like what I did with your idea!**

* * *

Peter was walking along the NYC streets. His mind was in shambles. Danny was a sophisticated jerk bag, and Luke was a wimpy freaking _butler!_ What was going on?

 _Man...I need to find the others..._

He was trying to rack his brain, thinking of where Sam and Ava might be. When he really thought about it, Peter realized that he had no clue where either of them had been before joining the team.

"Ugh!" He groaned to himself.

"HEY WATCH IT!" Peter jumped back as the car sped by, inches from his face. He stared at the traffic he had been about to waltz into to.

 _Hmm, maybe I should try_ not _getting myself killed._

A buzzing sound snapped him out of his stupor. He grabbed his phone out of his pocket and checked the caller ID. MJ!

"Hey MJ!" Peter said cautiously, not sure if she would be any different.

"Pete! Where are you? You were supposed to be at brunch with me and my parents!" She screeched.

"What? Why?" He asked stupidly.

"Did you get hit in the head or something?! Remember, you were supposed to bond with my parents so that we could go on our date!"

 _Date? With MJ! Nope nope nope!_

"Uh..."

"Ergh! You are impossible! Just forget it!" She hung up angrily, leaving Peter standing on the sidewalks with an open mouth.

 _Has this happened before? Oh yeah...Ava._

Peter shook his head and kept walking. He eventually arrived at a food truck in the middle of Central Park. His stomach chided him for barely eating those delicious pancakes.

"Might as well," He muttered, walking up to the truck.

"What can I make you?" Peter looked up to see a teen with tan skin and familiar spiky black hair.

"Sam!" He squealed. Sam stepped back quickly.

"Whoa dude, do I know you?"

Peter almost slapped him.

 _I am getting so tired of hearing those words._

"Yes! I mean, no. Well... kind of?"

"Ok...? Well, are you gonna order?"

"Oh um, sure. Cheese fries I guess. But dude, why are you working at a food truck?" Peter asked incredulously. The Sam he knew was not exactly a worker. Sam waved away his question.

"Needed money. No biggie. Large, medium, or small?"

"Medium. And why don't you just borrow money from your friends?" Peter baited. He wanted to add, _like always._

Sam finished fiddling with the grease trays and practically threw the fries at Peter.

"Because maybe I'm too busy to have friends!" He snarled. "Next customer!"

Before Peter could say anything another family shoved their way in front of him to order. Peter walked over to a nearby bench and sat down. He was determined to wait out Sam. He munched on his fries. Delicious.

 _At least his cooking skills are the same._

Peter watched as more and more people mobbed the food truck. Usually Sam would be complaining by now, moaning and grumbling. But he wasn't. He was a worker. And an efficient one too. Everyone got their food quickly and well made.

Peter was slightly alarmed by how well he was doing. He tried to think. Sam's dad had disappeared, he knew that much. And then...Oh yeah! Sam had been given the Nova helmet by the Guardians of the Galaxy!

But in this universe, what had gone wrong! Peter thought hard. Danny's parents had never taken him to Kun'Lun...Luke's parents had never died...maybe Sam had never been given the Nova helmet?

 _Great, all this stuff is giving me a headache!_

But then, if he had never been given the helmet, he still wouldn't be working in a food truck. He would be looking for his dad still. Peter grinded his teeth. He reached down for another fry and found the tray empty.

So to pass the time Pete decided to do a little more research on this messed up universe. He found Harry in his contacts.

"Hey Harry."

"What's up?"

"Tell me something, do Luke Cage and Danny Rand go to Midtown?" Peter tried not to sound too suspicious.

"Um...Luke is in our history class..." He said it really slowly, as if Peter had lost his mind. "And Danny is too good for school. He has to focus on being pampered while his servants do all the actual science!" Harry's voice was venomous.

"Whoa, sorry I asked..." Peter mumbled.

 _I guess they have a rivalry now...man this is hard to get used to._

"Yeah. Is that all you needed? My dad was going to help me study for the science test."

Peter's mind imploded.

"WHAT?"

"Dude, you didn't study yet?"

"No that's not what I- Why is your dad helping you?" Peter shrieked.

"Well, I know we haven't always been super close, but with the company going down hill, he has more time for me. I feel bad, it's totally eating him up, but at the same time, I'm kind of happy. He's finally caring for me, you know."

"Wow...yeah how's the company doing?"

"We had to fire a load of people, and the government is trying to shut us down. They say my dad hasn't produced any inventions in way too long. They started sending people in already, to check the place out. My dad was really upset, he said he had to send his favorite employee away. I think he said his name was Otto, but I never knew him."

Peter's eyes widened. Doc Ock?

 _Wait a minute, Norman must've sent him away so that the government wouldn't find him...but then why haven't I seen him?_

"Oh, that's too bad. Tell your dad I'm sorry for the way things have gone. Later Harry," Peter quickly said.

"Bye Pete."

Peter hung up and looked at his watch, about an hour had passed. He groaned. Sam was still working, chatting with a customer. Peter reluctantly got up and decided to come back later.

Maybe he could look for Ava in the meantime. He started walking out of the park. He knew Ava had lived somewhere in South America...but he couldn't remember where.

 _Even if I knew, how would I get there? This is hopeless._

Peter looked up at the metal and glass buildings as he walked. Just because he didn't have his costume didn't mean he couldn't have some fun.

"JJJ, eat your heart out," he smirked. Peter ran into an alley and ripped the sleeves off of his jacket, tying them together and putting two holes in the middle. He tied the makeshift mask around his head and fashioned the remains of the jacket into a turban to cover his hair.

 _Sixty second superhero! I should start my own show!_

Peter watched as the webbing shot from his wrist and he was catapulted into the air.

"WHOOOOOO!" He enthused. The buildings shot past him in seconds and he felt the rush he always felt when he was suspended in air.

 _At least some things never change!_

He swung around for the next few hours until it was nearly dinner time. The sun was setting and he would need to go home soon. But first, back to the park.

Sam was just climbing out of the truck when Peter ran up to him.

"Wait!"

"Oh. It's you," Sam muttered.

"Sam, look man, I'm sorry."

"Dude! Stop acting like we're best friends! We just met and I don't even know your name!"

"Oh right, I'm Peter Parker."

"Ok _Peter_ , let me tell you something. I don't like you butting in on _my_ life, and _my_ problems! So go away!"

"No."

"What did you say?"

"No I will not go away until you tell me what's going on with you," Peter knew this Sam had no idea who he was, and that he was probably being super creepy, but he didn't care. He wanted to know everything about this universe so that he could somehow fix it, and Sam was going to help him. Whether he liked it or not.

"Did you escape from an insane asylum or something?" Sam scowled. He turned away.

 _Man this is going to be awkward..._

Peter grabbed Sam's arm. Sam turned around with a look of embarrassment, horror, and anger.

"Dude..." Sam said slowly.

"Relax, I won't do anything, I just want to know why you're working at that food truck. Ok?"

Sam nodded and Peter let go of his arm. A hard punch to Peter's jaw sent him reeling. His hands flew to his mouth as he watched Sam trying to run away.

"Oh for crying out loud," He muttered. Without thinking, he shot a web at Sam's back and reeled him back in.

"What did you just do!" Sam whisper yelled.

"Just calm down bucket-head!" Peter inhaled quickly, realizing his mistake.

"What did you call me?"

"Um...nothing! Look, I need to explain some things, and you need to explain some things," Peter tried to reason.

"Are you a mutant?"

"Erm...kind of?"

"Cool," Sam whispered.

"Yeah sure, now tell me what's up."

"Why would you want to know?"

"I work for SHIELD, and I...I can't reveal why I need to know," Peter said.

"Fine. I needed the money so I could help out my mom and sister. They don't know though, they just think I really want to buy some expensive shoes," He looked at his feet. Peter stared at him.

 _Well, I only feel the biggest jerk on the planet!_

"Why?"

"My...My dad...he likes to drink, and he can be...mean...to them. But maybe if we raise enough money we can move out. Just a small apartment will do...just to get away," Sam's shoulders were shaking and Peter realized he was crying.

"I'm sorry, I-"

"He's crazy! You should hear the things he says! The things he screams!" Sam was sobbing and yelling now. Peter placed a hand on his shoulder and just awkwardly sat there.

"He whispers to me! He comes in my room while he thinks I'm sleeping and whispers lies in my ear. He says he used to be a superhero, that he used to live in space. He whispers things about talking raccoons and aliens and trees with magic powers! That's his sick punishment to me. He wants me to be just as crazy as he is!"

Despite himself, Peter's eyes lit up. Maybe he could still convince Sam that this wasn't really how the world should be.

"Sam, look at me" Peter shook the broken teen. Sam looked up at him with sick eyes. It broke Peter's heart.

"Your dad isn't crazy. He's right. All that stuff exists. And you're part of it. They're called the Nova Corp, and they're an intergalactic police force. You're the last one Sam. The last Nova."

Sam froze. His eyes glossed over with a hate that Peter had never seen before.

"You think this is funny don't you. I bet my dad sent you! That's how you know my name! In fact, you're probably not even a mutant, and you don't work for SHIELD! You're just a messed up creep with a hidden silly string dispenser that my dad hired! Well you can tell him that I'm never _ever_ going to believe his lies! EVER!" Sam started running away from Peter.

Peter wanted to call out, to stop him. But he didn't. He watched his former friend leg it through the park. He watched as Sam didn't look back. And he watched as he cleared the park, into the streets.

Peter balled his fists and banged them against his head.

 _Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!_

"Did you say something about SHIELD?" A rough Hispanic accent cut through the night. Peter's first thought was Kraven, but the voice was too high. Feminine. He wheeled around to see a teen girl in a black body suit with gray stripes.

Her black mask didn't come past her nose and it clearly showed her chocolate eyes. Long dark hair swished behind her loosely. Peter wondered if his heart was beating so fast because he was scared...or something else.

"Ava..." He whispered. The girl smirked and placed a hand on her hip.

"So you know of me?" She said.

"What happened to you? What about the White Tiger?" Peter asked. She stepped closer.

"If you're talking about my father, Kraven captured him years ago. But the fool couldn't bear the powers of the amulet. So he trained me, to become his soldier. His slave. The Black Tiger. Too bad he wasn't fast enough to escape me in the end. Now I'm a solo act," She purred. Peter stared.

"You _killed_ him?"

"Oh yes...and my pets certainly enjoyed the meal," She smiled as four black tigers stepped out of the shadows.

 _I didn't know those existed._

Peter decided that he'd had enough of trying to talk to his teammates. It wasn't like it had worked well so far. So he figured he should probably run.

"Now...am I mistaken that you mentioned SHIELD? You don't work for them do you?" Ava stepped even closer.

"What? No. I was just talking about...um..." Peter's mind went blank as Ava's claws danced on his chest. She grinned and he saw fangs in her mouth.

"You're cute. I'll even let you live. All you have to do is tell me how to get to the helicarrier..."

 _AVA CALLED ME CUTE! Um...erm...not that it matters or anything..._

Peter's heart was beating like a drum and he didn't even process that the helicarrier was still around.

Ava puckered her lips and leaned in. Peter started to lean in too when he stopped. This wasn't real. Ava probably did this to all the guys she wanted information from. And besides, this wasn't the Ava that he...liked. This was a fake, evil Ava.

 _But that whole cute thing still counts! It does!_

Peter stepped back quickly.

"You like me so much, come catch me," And with that, he shot a web up to a nearby building and swung away from the Black Tiger.

* * *

 **Yep, that just happened! Hope you guys enjoyed, tell me what your favorite line or part was! And for my animal lovers, black tigers are said to exist, but are extremely rare. (It's not a breed though, just tigers with melanism). Anyway...**

 **Wolf out...**


	4. Finding an Army

**Finally! The chapter you have all been tediously waiting for! The OCs! Sorry I took forever! Again, I'm putting this story (and all my other ones) on hold for a while until I can find the time! So don't read these chapters too quickly!**

 **Reviewers:**

 **True Beast: Yup! I love intimacy and putting shrouds over everything! MJ vs Ava may or may not happen, to be honest, I haven't decided yet!**

 **PrettyKitty Luvs U: Thanks! Glad you liked it!**

 **Guest: Thanks! I am still going, although not for a while.**

 **IronFistRocks: What do you mean?**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218** : **Yeah, it was kind of sad. But I love writing sad moments. I totally agree that the writers of the show had so many opportunities to make the show deeper. I know it's supposed to be more aimed for younger kids, but a lot of cartoons now add in little hints for older audiences. Like Adventure Time. And yes, total Black Cat. Ava and her fangs will be explained later!**

* * *

"How was your day Peter?" Uncle Ben asked. Peter's stomach heaved.

"Fine, I guess," He muttered, avoiding eye contact. Part of him wanted so badly to embrace his uncle, and the other part saw him as a cruel trick.

"What's wrong?" Aunt May cooed. She tried laying a hand on Peter's shoulder, he shrugged it off.

"Nothing Aunt May. Just tired," He bit his lip. Aunt May looked at him sadly. Peter turned and practically ran upstairs, locking the door behind him.

He unpacked some fabric he had picked up at a store before coming home. He was going to fix things, and the first order of business was introducing Spiderman to this world. Peter took out some sowing supplies and got to work.

"Aw. Stinging needles prick and burn, careful what you do!" A high, lilting voice rang out an hour later. Peter looked up from his work. He was half-way done. He sewed furiously, straining his ears for any more signs of the crazed voice. He knew exactly who it was.

"No answer Spiderman? Answers lead to questions lead to answers!"

Peter gritted his teeth. But doing the work for a second time was much faster than the first. Just one more sleeve and then-

"Hello friend. How's life?" The Wish Master appeared in his purple robes, slightly taller than last time. He fingered Peter's hair.

"I want my life back," Peter growled, already putting on his suit. "And I'm not afraid to fight you!"

"But fear is fuel and fuel is food! Fighting is futile boy," Wish Master laughed. Peter was briefly reminded of Danny's indecipherable phrases.

"I don't care! Give me back my old life and give my friends their old lives!"

"Time will make the new the new old!"

Peter lunged, fists first. Wish Master dodged easily, but didn't attack.

"Why won't you fight!" Peter yelled. No answer came for the door to Peter's bedroom opened suddenly. Peter froze. Uncle Ben stood in the doorway.

"Pete? What are you doing?" He said. Peter looked to see that his opponent was gone.

"I was...I was..." He stuttered. Uncle Ben walked over to him.

"Come on," He sat on Peter's bed and gestured for Peter to sit next to him.

"Sorry Uncle Ben. I was...practicing for a school play! This is my costume," Peter lied. Uncle Ben's eyebrows went up.

"Are you sure Pete. If there's anything you want to talk about..."

"I'm fine! Can you just...just go?" Peter's heart sank at speaking those words. But he needed to get rid of him while he fought. Uncle Ben sighed, lifting himself off the bed. He looked at Peter with hard eyes, then left.

Peter watched him go with remorse. But also some relief.

The Wish Master didn't come again that night.

* * *

At dawn, Peter woke up to his alarm clock. He quickly shut it off and dawned his suit. He had a plan.

 _Right, so all I need to do is find Wish Master. How hard can that be?_

But even if he found the strange villain, Peter knew it wouldn't be enough. He would need a new team. Peter locked his door and stuffed a few pillows under the blankets. Then he jumped out the window into the early morning.

He swung around the city, stopping minor crimes as he went. Eventually he stopped at a café for lunch, changing out of his suit. He ordered a sandwich and sat at a little table outside. As he ate, he surveyed the other customers for any possible team members or the Wish Master in disguise. He didn't really know what to look for. Maybe a man wearing a lot of purple? A lady? Peter sighed. And then he saw her.

A girl about his age with wavy brown hair and tanned skin. She was wearing an inconspicuous outfit of a gray jacket with a green zipper, a green undershirt, black jeans and black combat boots. Just a regular girl.

But there was something about her. Peter found it hard to stay focused on her. His head started hurting, and his eyes began drifting away from her. But Peter retrained them on the girl.

She got up and started walking away. A voice in Peter's head told him not to follow her. The voice was high, insane. Peter forced his numbing legs to go after her. His head throbbed.

 _Get away from her. Don't follow her. You don't need her._

But Peter wasn't known for following orders. He tailed her until she stopped at a crosswalk, waiting for the light to change. He mingled with the crowd until he "happened" to bump into her. She turned and Peter froze.

She was blind.

"Oh, um, hi," Peter said awkwardly.

"Hi."

"I'm Peter Parker."

"Jade Black," She grinned. Peter bit his lip.

 _What do I say!? Hey I followed you to ask if you have any powers or skills to be on my team? Yeah. Smooth._

"Erm..."

"Are you wondering how I find my way around without a guide dog?" Jade chuckled. Peter nodded, and then remembered she couldn't see.

"Yeah, kind of."

"I guess you could say I have very good senses," She winked a clouded green eye. Then she started walking forward at the exact same time as the light changing. Peter stared. He ran back into an alley and changed into his suit. He sprinted into the streets and grabbed Jade, simultaneously shooting up into the sky via web.

"HEY" She screamed. Peter said nothing until she kicked him in the knee.

"Ow!" Peter yelped. Jade elbowed him in the neck wildly. Peter gagged and released his hold on his webbing. Both teens tumbled onto the roof of a skyscraper.

"What was that for!" Peter yelled, massaging his throat.

"Sorry but _you_ grabbed _me_!" Then she stopped. "Peter?"

 _Huh, she does have good senses._

"Uh, yeah. Sorry about that. I figured it would be easier this way..."

"What would be easier?" Peter gathered himself.

"Ok, promise to keep an open mind."

"Sure."

"We're in an alternate timeline/universe thingy, and it's my fault. In my old life, I was one of New York's superheroes, along with my team. SHIELD was training us to become ultimate! But I wished all of that away, and now in this timeline, there is no Nova, Iron Fist, White Tiger, Powerman or Spiderman!"

Jade blinked slowly. Peter willed her to understand.

"So...your saying that I shouldn't be the way I am, because this is a different universe. Because I've lived here my whole life so..."

Peter let out a sigh of relief that she hadn't called him a lunatic yet.

"Um, no. See, the wish only affected me and my friends, and people associated with us. You're probably no different," Peter explained.

"Oh." Jade's voice had a tint of disappointment, but was quickly replaced by curiosity. "So what do I do?"

"Well, there is this super villain that granted the wish, named Wish Master. And in order to get everything back to normal, I have to find and stop him. I'm assembling a team. Want to join?" Peter asked hopefully.

Jade considered. Then she grinned.

"Sure Peter."

 _Yes! One down!_

* * *

Peter had let Jade back on the streets, telling her to meet him at his house at midnight. Now he was looking for his next member.

As luck would have it, he encountered him outside the movie theater. The Avengers movie was playing and even though everyone had already seen it, the line was long and packed with people. A gigantic man with a wolverine-esque build was standing a few heads taller than the crowd.

Again, a little voice in Peter's voice begged him not to go near him. The same headache came back as Peter trudged to the theater. He began cutting the line and more than a few people started screaming at him.

 _Ah New Yorkers. Like I've said, something's never change._

He tapped the mountainous man on the shoulder. He turned around with an annoyed look and Peter saw he couldn't have been much older than him.

"Uh...I'm Peter Parker. Can I talk to you for a second?" Peter asked nervously.

"Sorry man, I'm in line. What do you need?"

"Oh...just wondering if you had any powers or anything. Super strength? Invulnerability?" Peter was very aware of the fact that he sounded beyond insane. And very rude.

"I don't know what your talking about," The teen said quickly. Peter sighed.

"Oh. Are you sure?"

"Yup."

"Because I'm assembling a team of super powered people. I have powers too," Peter knew this was risky, but he had a feeling that this huge teen was lying. He showed him his wrist and let out a small string of webbing. The teen gasped.

He stepped out of line and followed Peter to a nearby alleyway.

"Ok. So my name is Dorian Sorbo. When I was younger, I found out that I do have powers. I can control smoke, and cause small fires."

Peter whistled.

"What do you mean, control smoke?"

"I can make it nauseous, toxic, spread around so I can hide, that sort of thing," Dorian admitted. Peter nodded.

"Well Dorian, you wanna join team Spidey?"

Dorian looked puzzled.

"Whose Spidey?" Peter face-palmed.

"Uh, that's me. I'm Spiderman, also known as Spidey, Wall-crawler, and Wed-head." Peter grinned wryly. Dorian chuckled.

"Ok, I'll join your team. I guess we should all put our hands in the middle like a bunch of jack-"

"Hey! Language!" Peter chastised. "There are children watching!"

"Dude, it's from Guardians of the Galaxy the movie. How have you not seen it?"

"Because I met them I person. Now I have to go, meet me at this address at midnight," Peter handed Dorian a slip of paper with his home address. And then he was web slinging away.

* * *

 **So if you haven't noticed yet, this is a two part chapter, because it was getting too long. The other half of the OCs are in the next chapter! Oh! And if your OC made it in, please tell me what I did wrong so I can fix it! Because as my first time doing this type of thing, I probably made some mistakes. Anyway...**

 **Wolf out...**


	5. Figure in the Window

**So this chapter covers the last few OCs. Sorry again for the delay, it took forever to get everything the way I wanted.**

* * *

The next teammate proved slightly harder to find. Peter walked around for a while before he finally heard that voice in his head again. Once again he felt tired and sick.

 _Why does this keep happening? You would think I was allergic to mutants!_

He looked around central park and saw a couple of girls hanging around a teenage boy with honey-colored windswept hair. Peter blushed.

 _This is going to be very awkward._

Peter ran over to the boy and stood there uncomfortably, waiting for the boy and his harem to notice him. Eventually Peter took the hint that he was being ignored.

"Hey," Peter piped up. The boy looked over to him and smirked.

"Need something?"

"Uh...yeah." Peter tried to signal with his eyes that this discussion should be held in private. The teen cocked an eyebrow.

"Ok...you gonna tell me?"

"Oh, well yeah. But um, in private..." Peter fumbled with his words, but the sick feeling was fading at least.

Just like Jade, and even Dorian now that he thought about it, this kid seemed hard to focus on.

"Sure. See you girls later," The teen dismissed them and they walked away. Peter smiled in relief. He was a little more used to this whole, asking people about their powers thing.

"I'm Peter Parker."

"Jace Ward," Jace's ice blue eyes sparkled. Peter nodded.

"So Jace, I know you have powers-"

"Who told you!" Jace snarled, stepping closer to Peter.

"Well technically, you just did. But don't worry about it. I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to know what your powers are."

Jace considered for a minute. Then he sighed and nodded, his easy grin returning.

"Watch," He stared at Peter and Peter couldn't help but stare back. Suddenly everything was silent. Peter looked around and saw that everyone was frozen.

Frisbees were stalled midair, along with frozen dogs eager to receive them. Children's faces were still as ice-cream cones dropped hallway to the ground.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO THEM!" Peter yelled. Jace laughed, strolling over to one of the fresh falling ice-cream cones. He plucked it out of mid-air and licked it smugly.

"I didn't do anything. Well, not to them. I just stopped time," He smirked. "No biggie."

Peter stared.

"You can do that?"

"Um, dude. I just did," Jace said. Peter shook his head to clear it.

"Well change it back!" Peter shrieked. An expression of concentration flashed over his face and a clamor of voices rang out again. One kid started crying because his ice cream had seemingly disappeared. Peter carefully watched Jace, but his cocky grin gave away nothing.

"Ok, um, how would you like to join my team of superheroes?" Peter chuckled nervously. Jace looked interested.

"What for?"

"Uh...long story. Just meet me at this address at midnight and I'll explain everything. Hopefully everyone else will be there too," Peter bargained, handing Jace a slip of paper. Jace shoved it into his pocket without even looking at it. He signaled for the girls to come back.

"I'll be there," He said. Peter nodded in thanks and walked away.

* * *

Peter's smile stretched ear to ear as he strolled through the streets. He figured it didn't even matter if he found anyone else now. But better safe than sorry. So Peter decided to give himself about another two hours and if he came up empty, fine.

After the first hour, Peter had started walking more in the general direction of his house, sure he'd not find anyone else. Until of course, that voice in his head made him look over to a dark-haired girl throwing a glowing thing a few yards away from a hotdog stand.

The owner looked over and while he was distracted, the girl ran over and picked up a hotdog, looking around for witnesses. She saw Peter staring and took off. Peter quickly cut her off with his webbing and ended up in front of her.

"I didn't do anything!" She cried out. Peter held up his hands.

"Really? 'Cause I kind of just saw you steal that hotdog," Peter said matter-of-factly. " _But_ , it's fine. That's not exactly why I chased you."

The girl looked at him. Peter saw that her bang was dyed red. She wore a purple tee under a gray vest and jean shorts.

"Then why did you chase me?" She asked in a small voice.

"I saw what you did. With that glowing thing. You have powers," Peter said. The girl played with a string of hair. She sighed.

"Ok, yes. I do have powers, but I wasn't hurting anyone!"

"I know. If you were, I would have to take you to jail. What's your name?"

"Samantha Knipp."

"Peter Parker. I'm collecting people with powers like yours to be on my team," Peter explained. Samantha ducked her head.

"Sorry. I'm not a hero," She paused. "I'm not great at using my powers anyway."

Peter grinned his crooked smile.

"I don't need a hero. I just need someone who's willing to help," Peter used his 'inspirational' tone, normally reserved to rally his old team.

 _Ugh! I really hate referring to them as my_ old _team._

Samantha ducked her head and stayed silent.

"You know...If you join I can provide free food," Peter bribed only half-jokingly. Samantha smiled.

"Thank you Peter, but I'm not going to join for food. I want to help," She nodded.

"Great! Meet me at midnight!" Peter handed her the last of his slips of paper before running off, flashing another cheeky grin. He would need to prepare. And of course, get rid of his Aunt and Uncle.

* * *

"Aunt May! Uncle Ben! I'm home!" Peter cried out. Uncle Ben and Aunt May were already in the den, flipping through Netflix.

"Hello dear," Aunt May greeted. Uncle Ben smiled, seeming to have forgiven Peter.

"Come here Pete. You can help us pick a family movie!" He beckoned. Peter grinned.

"Ooh! I'll make popcorn!" He scurried into the kitchen and grabbed a bag, shoving it into the microwave.

 _Hmm...what movie is boring enough to make them fall asleep?_

They ended up watching some animal documentary about sharks. Aunt May and Uncle Ben were asleep before it was halfway done. Peter carefully disentangled himself from their limbs and heads and left them on the couch.

He checked the clock. Nine. Peter went upstairs and let himself relax, finally feeling like he was in control of things. He closed his eyes for what felt like a second.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Peter's eyes opened slightly. He was completely disorientated, but he knew he was tired.

TAP! TAP! TAP!

Peter jolted up in bed. He glanced at his clock. 12:15. He looked over to see rocks being thrown against his window. Peter opened the window and got whacked in the face with one of the rocks.

"Hey!" He groaned. Gathered below, was Jade, Dorian, Jace, and Samantha.

"You coming?" Jace called. Loudly. Peter furiously shushed him.

"Yeah! One sec!" He spun back around and all but ripped off his clothes, revealing his costume underneath. Then, making sure no one else was up, he dived out of the window. He landed gracefully in a neat roll.

All of the new team members seemed impressed other than Jace.

"Hey dude. Nice underwear," He said nonchalantly. Peter was reminded of Sam. He decided to let it slide.

"Ok, so first off, I'm glad you guys actually came. Have you all met?" Peter asked, judging by his being late. They nodded.

"Good. So here is the thing. This whole universe, it's a total lie," He began, slowly telling the whole detailed story, ending on his latest encounter with the Wish Master.

"Wow. That's kind of cool," Dorian admitted. Peter looked at him.

"No it isn't! All of my friends hate me and none of them recognize me!" Peter whisper-yelled.

"Yeah, but it's still cool that you know Daniel Rand."

"His name is Danny! And we have to focus!" Peter sighed. "So does anyone know a place where we can train without being seen?"

"Maybe the old warehouses?" Samantha suggested. Peter shook his head.

"Too small."

"We could always hijack the SHIELD helicarrier thing," Jace said. Peter rolled his eyes.

"No."

"Why can't Jace just stop time long enough for us to train?" Jade asked sweetly. Peter froze.

"Can you do that?" Peter asked Jace. The teen looked unsure for a second, then a mask of cool bravado concealed his uncertainty.

"Probably," Jace said simply. Peter cocked an eyebrow.

"Ok..." He said slowly. "Great. So I guess we just do it in a gym or something! We'll start tomorrow!" Peter declared.

"But first, you guys are going to need names. I'm already Spiderman, so what do you all want to be?" Peter said. There was a long silence.

"Shadow Shard," Samantha said. Peter was slightly surprised to hear her speak first, and with upmost confidence in her name.

"Pause," Jace decided. Peter nodded.

"Smoke, obviously," Dorian grinned, proud of himself. They all turned to Jade.

"Black Fang," She stated. Dorian widened his eyes.

"Nice."

"Thank you," She said. Peter smiled. His team seemed to get along, and they were all pretty powerful.

"Awesome. So remember, we start tomorrow. Meet me near the back of the school around six in the afternoon," Peter told them. They all nodded.

Then Peter watched his team leave, not noticing the rigid figure standing in the window.

* * *

 **And there you have it! You have no idea how good it feels to finally have this done! Please review who you think the figure is. And I hope you guys enjoyed!**

 **Wolf out...**


	6. Misery Loves Companionship

**HI GUYS! Guess what! I'm not dead! So you can put away the pitchforks because I've finally updated! And I'm very proud of this chapter, so I hope you guys like it!**

 **Reviewers:**

 **Chaos Supernova: I'm gad you liked the chapters and Jace was really fun to write! You'll see this chapter about the time stopping and I hope you like it! A lot of Jace in this chapter!**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218: Very true. And I really like Dorian, although I wasn't able to put in a lot of movie quotes this chapter. The old team will make several cameos and play a very important part towards the end. I might even include them in the next chapter.**

 **IronFistRocks** : **Yes, yes she is. Your welcome. XD**

 **Guest: Haha! Good point, but warehouses are just so convenient! If you read my other stories you'll know that there is almost always some kind of warehouse involved.**

* * *

Peter thought everything was finally going his way. He went down to he school the next day at 5:30, half an hour early. Peter settled himself in the grass to wait, his costume concealed under his outfit.

"So, you assembling some kind of role-play team?" Peter jumped halfway up the wall. He looked down in horror. Uncle Ben stood, arms crossed.

"Uncle Ben! This isn't what it looks like!"

"Really? Because it looks like you have superpowers!" Uncle Ben growled.

"No!" Peter jumped off the wall. "I was just..."

"Peter stop lying to me!" Uncle Ben screamed. "I saw you last night! With those kids! I saw you jump out of the window without injury!"

Peter looked at his feet.

"Why would you keep this from me?" Uncle Ben whispered.

"I just didn't want you to get hurt." Peter mumbled.

 _Yeah. Again._

"Well, if you think I can't handle it, than I guess you aren't my nephew," Uncle Ben scowled, turning rigidly. Then he walked off, leaving Peter alone with tears in his eyes.

"Aww! So sad and sweet! Just like your defeat? Don't you think?" A sick voice jeered in Peter's ears. He crumpled to his knees. Not bothering to look behind him.

"Why? Do you enjoy watching people be miserable?" Peter snarled. The Wish Master appeared in front of him.

"Actually, yes," The Wish Master hissed, grabbing Peter by his shoulders and lifting him into the air. "Misery and insanity! Both love a spot of company!" He threw Peter into the grass. Something cracked and when Peter stood up he knew it was his shoulder.

"You took everything from me! Everything!" Peter jumped up and dived at Wish Master. The cloaked villain dodged but Peter landed in a crouch and sprung again, this time tackling his foe.

They landed on the ground. It was as if Peter had lost control of his arms. They literally threw themselves at Wish Master's body, face, neck, everything. The fabric sucked at his fists with a mysterious wetness, but Peter didn't notice. He was screaming and the blood in his ears was the only sound. Punched flew everywhere. More misses than hits.

The Wish Master laughed hysterically. Loud barks of shrieking laughter, even as punches landed inside his hood. Everything was moving too fast. The world seemed to spin like an out-of-control carousal ride and Peter wasn't aware of anything other than anger. Heat flooded up his face and ears. He was on fire. Everything burned and he couldn't punch fast enough.

A fist landed inside the hood again and Peter felt something sharp bite through his skin, tearing off the flesh on his fingers. Peter screamed as teeth met bone and finally unclenched. Peter cursed and stared at the darkness that had no mouth, yet was able to bite.

Wish Master bucked him off and flew up to hover a foot off the ground. Peter sat lamely on the ground staring at his hand. The upper layer of skin had been chewed off to the knuckles, exposing red, raw flesh. Pearly bone stuck out in some places. Blood flowed from the wound and Wish Master giggled.

"Careful Peter. I bite!" He snorted wetly. Peter stood dumb.

 _What just..._

"Oh my goodness Peter! Are you okay?" Samantha's voice rang out as she ran to where Peter sat. The blood kept spurting from his hand but Peter couldn't move. He could only stare at the redness with a bewildered expression.

"What's going on? Jade stumbled over with the same scared tone as Samantha. "I smell blood!"

"It's Peter! His whole hand is bleeding. Oh my God. I think he's in shock or something! Peter! Peter!" Samantha yelled. Jade nearly shoved Samantha aside. She tore off a strip of Peter's shirt sleeve and began clumsily wrapping it around Peter's hand. The make-shift bandage slipped and she had to try again.

"Guys?" Dorian had just walked into the scene. He stared at Peter for a moment and then at the girls.

"Dorian! Come here!" Jade commanded.

"Whoa, okay," Dorian stuttered. Together, they all tried to stop the bleeding together. Peter's lips were beginning to move. His brain was just starting to wake up. But by the whitening in his cheeks, the group could tell he would probably pass out.

Suddenly the blood stopped flowing. Peter's chest stopped moving too. Samantha, Dorian, and Jade all turned at the same time.

"What would you guys do without me?" Jace strolled in, grinning. The group smiled.

"It's about time, _Pause_ ," Dorian sighed, slightly disappointed that the epic moment had been ruined, but grateful for his new friend's safety. Jace rolled his eyes.

"I'll go get some real bandages," Jade offered. She stood up and started walking towards the school doors.

"So what happened?" Jace asked casually.

"I don't know. When Jade and I got here he was just sitting here. All of the skin on his hand was just, gone," Samantha explained.

"Maybe something bit him? Like a dog or something?" Dorian suggested.

"As funny as it is, I don't think a superhero who has spider powers could get easily beaten by a dog," Jace reasoned.

"Yeah, but he doesn't have his costume on, so he couldn't have been attacked by a villain, he would have sensed it or something," Samantha said sheepishly.

"Maybe he was ambushed then! By that Wish guy he was talking about!" Dorian snapped his fingers. Just then, Jade came back out with a roll of bandages. They carefully wrapped Peter's hand tightly. Then Jace released time and they all stood back.

Peter stood still for a few seconds, then he looked up. His blue eyes seemed to clear and he opened his mouth to speak.

"G-Guys?" His voice was slightly slurred. Like a ragdoll, he shakily stood up. Peter felt so weak. His limbs were suddenly heavy and he stumbled. Dorian and Jace rushed forward to catch him as he fell.

"Guys?" Peter's tongue was leaden. He blinked slowly and stupidly, trying to focus.

"Shh, it's okay Peter. You lost a lot of blood," Jade said, rubbing his back. Peter shook his head.

"No...no...I think...it's him. He made me feel..." Peter groaned and lurched forward. "Bad."

Jace snorted, and Dorian gave him a nasty look.

"Who's him?" Jade asked kindly.

"Wish Master," Peter slurred.

Dorian cheered at being right and was now on the receiving end of the scowls.

"Can you stand?" Samantha asked. Peter nodded, struggling to stay awake.

 _Come on! You were supposed to train today! Get up!_

Peter slowly got to his feet, swaying like a tree about to fall. He clenched his eyes shut against the dots swimming in his vision and waited for the nausea to withdraw.

"Okay," He said breathlessly. "I'm good. We can train now."

Jace rolled his eyes. "Um, _we_ can train. _You_ are going home."

"No! I'm supposed to be the leader!" Peter sputtered.

"I think we can manage," Jace argued.

"I can fight just as well as any of you and better! I have the experience! Half of you don't even know how to use you powers!" Peter growled, leaning against the wall of the school.

"Not like that you can't," Jace smirked. Both boys narrowed their eyes. Dorian looked like he was wishing he had some popcorn, and Samantha looked torn between helping and staying put. Jade sighed and stepped forward.

"Peter, you're in no condition to train with us, but you do have the knowledge. So maybe you can stay with us and direct us as we go? If you feel up to it," She said calmly. Peter smiled.

"You remind me more and more of Danny," He grinned. Jade blushed.

Peter agreed to directing and sat back down. Jace focused and time stopped again. Then it was on. The teens faced each other.

To everyone's surprise, Samantha attacked first. She threw three shards of light at each of the other heroes and they exploded on contact. The others shielded their eyes and she leaped forward to punch Dorian. He caught her fist and his hands began oozing smoke. Samantha coughed and fell to her knees. Dorian cheered when Jade did a cartwheel and wrapped her legs around his neck. She swung her upper body up as Dorian fell under her weight, so that she landed on her feet, with Dorian's head between her legs on the ground.

Samantha stood up and aimed a kick to her chin. Jade back-bended out of the way and tried to land a few punches. The girls were at a stalemate until Dorian's smoke covered the atmosphere. Both girls blinded, Dorian shoved them both into a heap.

"Yeah! Good sneak attack Dorian. All of you! Try to be aware of surroundings as you fight!" Peter yelled, strength returning. Then he stopped. "Guys! Where's Jace!"

Dorian was in a two versus one battle with the girls when a tree branch flew into his head. Then a rock. Dorian turned, allowing Samantha to whack him with a light shard and Jade to roundhouse kick him in the head. Dorian was down.

Now Jace jumped from his spot in a tree and landed directly on top of Samantha. She used a light shield to lessen his impact, and he rolled off. He smiled charmingly before grabbing her face and staring at her until she froze. He stared at Jade next, but she smirked.

"Guess your trick doesn't work if the other person can't see you!"

"Luckily, a magician always has more than one trick," Jace smiled charmingly as he caught her kick and twisted her leg with one hand, and pressing down on her side with the other. Jade fell.

Jace grinned and blew a strand of hair away from his eyes.

"How'd I do teacher?" He asked Peter. Peter nodded, proud.

"Good. Except once a friend told me not to celebrate too early."

Dorian, and Jade both leaped onto Jace's back. The teen called out as he fell. He hit the ground hard. Dorian laughed as he helped Jade up. Jace stayed on the floor, glaring.

"Thanks," He grumbled. He stood up and un-froze Samantha.

"Great. Now go again, but this time in teams. Dorian and Jade versus Samantha and Jace." Peter announced. He watched them spar for about two hours, shouting out advice whenever he could, and switching teams and exercises.

 _Wow...they're good._

He watched as Dorian bumped into Jace by accident. Dorian had been fighting Samantha and Jade was helping her. Jace's eyes rolled up slightly and he fell to his hands and knees.

"Hey!" Peter yelled. "Wait, stop!" Dorian, who had been about to trip over Jace, froze and received a kick in the face by Jade.

"What's up?" He said.

Peter went over to Jace and helped him up.

"Hey, you okay?" Peter asked. Jace scowled and tore away from Peter's grasp.

"Yeah. I'm fine," He said defensively. He put a hand to his temple and Peter noticed that the trees started moving and he could hear the sounds of activity again as time un-froze. Jace sighed in relief, massaging his head.

"Are you sure your okay?" Samantha asked. Jace turned on her.

"Yes. I'm fine!" He snapped. Then he looked down, wincing. "I've just never stopped time for that long before," He muttered. His cheeks flushed red. Peter cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Well, that's enough training for today. I'm gonna head home," Peter said.

 _But what about Uncle Ben?_

Peter frowned. He would just have to try and make amends. His hand was begging to bleed through the bandage so he said his goodbyes and started web-slinging home, one-handed.

* * *

 **Don't worry, Peter's hand will heal eventually due to his spider powers. But until then, I'll have fun making that his little handicap. I am super sorry for the wait, but today I literally had a fanfic marathon and updated everything! So please review! And anyway...**

 **Wolf out...**


	7. Consequences

**Hey look! I'm alive! Alert the press! Alert the president! Someone get the queen! So anyway, I guess I should explain stuff. Here's the short version: I'm weird and I reread my reviews for old stories a lot, and due to the sheer amount of emotional blackmail from your reviews, I'm giving this story another go. ;)**

 **Also if you've forgotten where we are in the story, here's what you need to know: Pete has assembled a team of random super powered kids, and Uncle Ben has figured out he's Spiderman. Also, Peter's hand is all messed up.**

 **Reviews:**

 **Chaos Supernova: Very true, I really like her. Thank you, Jace is so much fun to write! Peter has the worst luck! Thanks for reviewing! Enjoy the chapter!**

 **pownxmanonnie: Thank you! Glad you liked it!**

 **IronFistRocks: Yeah, I thought she might. And yes, it's the best!**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218: Thanks! True, the guys are just being guys! And yeah, loads of people have said that about Jade! Pete and Ben...well...you'll find out! ;) I'm glad I was able to make it gruesome, I was going for that. Especially since I'm planning for the story to get a bit darker towards the end. Thanks for the quotes, I was dying as I read them. I'll try my best to incorporate them!**

 **Sodauv8: Thank you! Hopefully this time I'll be able to keep it going!**

 **Guests: The story was cancelled, but I'm giving it another chance because I feel bad about the OCs going to waste. I'll probably update close to weekly, if I can.**

 **Man285: Ok!**

* * *

The Wish Master flew over New York in happy circles, singing a strange song that seemed to have no lyrics. His robes flowed out in the breeze, camouflaging him into the night sky. He breathed in slowly, feeling the energy ooze into him. This was his greatest wish yet.

And he just needed a little more power to make it complete.

* * *

Peter walked into his house and froze. It was empty. And not just of people, but of most of the furniture. He rushed upstairs. Everything was gone. Except his room. It was still exactly as he'd left it. A sign hung from his door.

 _Pete,_

 _It's obvious that you didn't tell us about your abilities because they're dangerous. So I've done you a favor and created a space where you can't endanger us, or anyone else. We've moved in with your aunt's friend, Beatrice, until we can find someplace else. Enjoy your new freedom. We left some pizza in the fridge._

 _-Uncle Ben_

 _-Aunt May_

"What..." Peter muttered. He sank to his knees. Everything blurred for second, before snapping back into focus. The one good thing about this wish had just been destroyed.

And it was all his fault.

"Blaming pains you, ails you, jails you!" A sick voice called out. Peter growled. These visits were becoming more and more frequent.

"What do you want?" Peter screamed, slamming his hand down onto the floor. Pain raced up his arm and he cried out.

"Careful Petey! Ouchies heal slowly without auntie's kisses!" Wish Master appeared in front of Peter.

"Why are you doing this," Peter snarled. He stood to fight, but suddenly he felt dizzy. He fell and Wish Master giggled. His entire head felt light, like he was floating, and he realized he'd had this same feeling every time he'd encountered a new team member.

 _But I fought through it. And if he didn't want me to find them, I must be a threat!_

Peter gritted his teeth as he forced himself upright.

"I'm not scared of your mind games," He groaned, "I will end this."

"Endings are for story books! And I am the author!" Wish Master's voice suddenly dropped into a gravelly hiss. He floated higher and his covered arm swept out. Peter flew into the wall, painfully butting his head against the plaster.

"Recalling this recorded passage grants you passage into my arms! I hold the puppet strings on life and you are all my porcelain dolls!" He shrieked with laughter, then disappeared.

Peter's wooziness faded. He slumped down, gasping for air.

Anger tore into him, but he could do nothing about it.

The doorbell rang.

 _What now?!_

Peter dragged himself downstairs and flung open the door.

"What is going on with you?" MJ's angry voice pierced his eardrums. His eyes immediately flicked down to himself in panic. He relaxed once he saw he wasn't in costume anymore.

"Hey...MJ..." He said with the fakest grin of his life.

"Whoa, are you moving?" She peered over his shoulder, staring at his barren house.

"Um..." Peter blinked numbly, still recovering from his encounter with Wish Master, "No?"

She shoved her way inside and stood in the center of the living room, turning in a slow circle.

"Look, MJ, this is not a good time," Peter began, walking up.

"No Peter. This is the perfect time! We need to talk," She huffed, placing both hands on his chest. Peter blushed uncomfortably.

"What's on your mind?" Peter droned, defeated. MJ was stubborn, and when she got something in her head, there was no getting it out.

"What's been going on? Huh? First, you forget to come meet my parents. Then you don't return any of my calls. And now you're trying to kick me out!" She puffed out her bottom lip, pressing her body close to his.

Peter gritted his teeth. He fidgeted. MJ closed her eyes and lifted up her chin so that her lips brushed against Peter's.

"I would feel much better about this if we were officially dating," She purred.

 _What do I do?! What do I do?! Just be smooth!_

Peter made a very high-pitched sound that resembled a baby bird crying for its mother. He pushed away too quickly and stumbled back.

MJ's eyes snapped open and Peter saw them bristle with tears.

"What is wrong with you!" She yelled.

"I just...can't do this right now. My life is kind of complicated," He stuttered.

"Since when? You're acting so weirdly Peter and if you want me to help you then you need to start—"

"I don't need your help MJ!" Peter snapped. She went silent, wiping at her eyes furiously.

"Fine," She cried, "Whatever. At least you didn't text it like most guys."

She stormed out of the house.

"Wait, I didn't mean..." Peter trailed off.

 _To break up. But I was never with her in the first place! Ugh! Why would we be together in this universe?_

Peter sighed as it dawned on him.

"Because I never met Ava," He groaned to himself, running his non-injured hand through his hair.

This universe gave him a headache. Peter shook his head, walking over to the fridge and finding the pizza. He wolfed it down on the floor, trying and failing to come up with a plan. For all he knew the Wish Master was right there in the room with him, watching.

 _Could've at least left me the TV._

Peter inhaled slowly, bored. He stood up, pulling on his costume. If he was going to beat this universe, he needed to know about it first.

He walked outside and hid behind his house. Webs shot from his wrist and he was sling-shotted into the air. His body flipped around as he traveled.

"With more schools we can relieve the pressure placed on the current, full ones, and allow opportunities for better education to all students!" Someone was making a speech down in Times Square.

Peter dived down and landed on a rooftop. He crawled halfway down the wall, hidden by the overhanging roof. It was Danny. And he was standing at a podium, addressing thousands of people.

"Rand Co. will fund the creation of the first school, as well as all other necessities. But beyond that will be a communal effort! A project to bring us together and ensure better futures for our youths! United!" He yelled.

The crowd cheered. Peter noticed Luke was standing awkwardly half-hidden behind Danny. His eyes darted around nervously at the people. Several reporters were climbing onto the podium, microphones poised.

"Mr. Rand! What inspired your interest in education?" A man asked. Danny grinned wolfishly. He placed his hand roughly on Luke's shoulder and shoved him forward.

"My childhood friend, Lucas Cage, was very deprived of fair education. He could never afford it, you understand. And I feel like he has little confidence because of it. To honor my _friend,_ I have made it my life's work to make schooling very affordable."

Peter's eyes widened. Luke ducked his head, obviously ashamed. The reporter glanced at him with pity.

"And you believe your plan will achieve that?" He interrogated.

"I do."

 _What is this?_

Peter began to notice the signs being held up by crowd members. **Rand For Mayor!**

"What?" He muttered. Danny was running for mayor?

"Unfortunate, isn't it?" A voice purred in his ears. Peter shrieked and almost fell off the wall. He turned to see the feline anti-hero beside him.

"Ava!"

"The name's Black Tiger," She snarled. She blinked under her mask, and composed herself. "Anyway, it's sad to see that idiot running."

"He's not...Danny's not an idiot!" Peter mumbled. Though he had been secretly thinking along similar lines. This world's Danny was the furthest thing from wise as possible.

"Right. You know him then? Or are you just a fanboy?" She snuggled closer to him, and Peter's breath hitched.

"A fan," He muttered, knowing he'd already probably revealed too much.

"Interesting. And how many fans can stick to walls, hmm?" She purred roughly. Peter found himself unable to move.

"What do you want?" He tried to sound menacing, unafraid. Uninterested.

"Justice. Just like you and SHIELD. This city will burn if that maniac becomes mayor. Especially with his new school programs."

"I told you I'm not with SHIELD," Peter said. But a tiny part of him was intrigued by Ava's words.

"Right, of course not. But I'm guessing you're one of those people who wants to bring out the good in everyone? Which means I'll see you tonight," She smiled. Then with lightning fast speed and precision, she drew a dagger from her belt and flung it down.

It spiraled beautifully for three seconds, heading towards Danny's chest. Peter screamed, flinging his webs out to catch the projectile.

"Look out!" Luke's voice as he went to move away. Peter watched Danny's foot crash into the back of Luke's knee. The wiry teen fell forward, looking for all the world like he was sacrificing himself for his best friend.

The knife impaled itself in his collar. He cried out and fell to the ground. Danny dropped besides him.

"Call 911!" He shouted, playing his role perfectly. "Lucas! Are you okay? Talk to me! Please Lucas, talk to me!"

Peter watched dumbfounded. He was shaking. Blood dripped from Luke's lips. Fake tears shined in Danny's eyes.

"Call an ambulance!" He screamed, cradling Luke.

The crowd was in a rage of terror and panic. Everyone looked up. Someone pointed at Peter, shrieking. He turned and found that Ava was gone.

Still in a stupor, Peter swung away as quickly as he could.

As he zipped between buildings in no particular direction, his mind exploded with thoughts. He couldn't comprehend what he had just seen. Had anyone else seen it? No. No one else had. And what had Ava meant? Obviously she was going for Danny. But that had also been a warning shot. The real assassination would be tonight.

 _But when? And why does she want me there?_

He looked down and saw an ambulance careening down the street with a limousine following it.

 _You would think in a city like this, it'd be hard to keep running into my friends. Maybe that's part of the Wish Master's game._

Peter gritted his teeth under his mask. He finally touched down onto a rooftop. He sat with his head in his hands, gasping for air. He looked down at the city. It looked no different from up here. If he dismissed all the things he'd done and seen, he could almost pretend that it was the same city.

 _And yet it couldn't be farther from my home._

Peter stared, overcome by emptiness. Everything was going wrong. He had traded a terrible day for a miserable life. And Wish Master seemed as invincible as ever. He tore his mask off and held it, squeezing it tightly despite the pain that still overcame his hand.

"Are you following me?" An angry voice yelled from behind him. Peter turned in exasperation. Sam was standing near the door that led back inside the building.

"You wish bucket-head," Peter muttered, turning back and slouching over once more.

"Why do you keep calling me that?" Sam demanded. "Why are you at my house?"

Peter shook hid head slowly, sighing.

"Fine. Later Sam," He began to push himself off the roof when Sam cried out.

"Wait! What're you doing?" He yelled.

Peter realized that Sam thought he was just a normal person. And, as a normal civilian, he probably didn't look great trying to jump off a very high building.

"It's okay. I have powers, remember?" He hopped off the lip and stuck to the wall a few feet down. Sam ran to the edge and peered down at him.

"What do you want?" Sam glared. Peter climbed back onto the roof and sat down, cross-legged.

"You won't believe me if I tell you," He said. Sam nodded.

"Probably not. But if I'm going to get stalked by a disturbed kid wearing red and blue underwear, I might as well know what I'm dealing with."

Peter grinned. A glimpse of the old Sam.

"I don't know. You didn't take it well the last time I tried to talk to you," Peter reminded him.

"I did some snooping. Phone records, emails, all of it. I even hid my dad's bottles while he was sober until he told me everything about you. Nothing. You really don't know him, do you?"

"No. Now, you might want to keep an open mind this time. This may get a little crazy, but I promise you it's all true."

Suddenly, from one of the jumbotrons, J.J.J began ranting.

 _This universe seems to have very specific timing._

"Not even an hour ago, Daniel Rand of Rand Co. was in the process of a mayoral campaign when an unknown villain launched an assassination attempt."

A huge picture of Peter, fully masked, came up, followed by a video of the Luke taking the knife for Danny. Sam's face froze. His fists balled up.

 _No! No! NO! Not now!_

"Rand's life was spared when his childhood friend, Lucas Cage, sacrificed himself. Cage is currently in critical condition, but the doctors believe he will survive."

Sam was standing up now, turning away.

"Wait Sam!" Peter yelled.

Danny's face appeared on the board. Anger was written clearly in his eyes.

"Rand Co. is donating five thousand dollars to the NYPD to dedicate as many officers needed to snuff out this menace and bring him to justice by any means necessary. We will find him," He said darkly.

Peter watched helplessly as Sam slammed the door shut behind him. The lock clicked.

Peter hung his head. All alone, and a universe away from his home.

* * *

 **Oh hey, there's a poll on my page if you guys want to vote. The purpose of it is kind of lost now, but if you want to motivate me, go ahead! Also, to everyone who has an OC in here: please tell me what superhero costume they have!**

 **Wolf Out...**


	8. The Mission Begins

**Hulloo friends! Wow the last few days have been insane! Not only did I get to go see the new Deadpool film (It was the funniest thing ever!) but I'm in the middle of a move! I literally just landed an hour ago!**

 **Reviews:**

 **Guest: Yep! I'm back and I'm not planning on leaving anytime soon! Poor Pete indeed...Glad you like the story!**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218: Aw thanks! Your review made my day! It feels good to be back. And yeah, you're right about the endings. Yep, poor Petey! But everything happens for a reason! I love writing Danny in this Universe! It's really cool to explore his new character! I feel bad for Luke too, but I waned to make it so that Danny and Luke always have some sort of connection or relationship, regardless of the universe! Tiger's plan...well...you'll see! Thanks for the quotes!**

 **New Prussia: Yay! Congrats on getting an account. Thanks for the costume!**

* * *

On his way home, Peter stopped by the hospital in his civilian clothes. The normally quiet interior was full of noise and bodies of reporters. Peter shoved his way through.

"Only family members allowed," A doctor said as Peter tried to get through the door.

"Oh okay. Sorry to bother you," Peter blinked widely, giving his best puppy dog eyes, "But I was wondering if someone could look at my...um... _rash._ " Peter unbandaged his hand, wincing at the sight of his exposed bones. The doctor's eyes widened, and he stumbled back.

"Oh my...what happened?" He shrieked. "Let me go find someone for you!"

The doctor scurried away and Peter slipped into Luke's room. The now skinny teen was lying in his bed, alone.

"Hey Luke," Peter said. Luke visibly jumped.

"Whoa. Are you that kid from a few days ago? You go to my school right?"

"Yeah. Peter," Peter introduced himself again. Luke nodded, grimacing in pain.

"What are you doing here?"

"I saw what happened. What really happened," Peter muttered. Luke sighed.

"I owe Daniel Rand a lot. He's my best friend. Of course I'd sacrifice myself for him," He said it as if reading from a script. Peter's blinked.

"What? No! No dude, I saw him push you!"

Luke sat up and clutched at Peter's arm, his face betraying his pain.

"Do not say that! You hear me?! If you tell that to anyone I will...he will..." Luke collapsed back onto the bed, lip quivering. Peter gaped.

"Daniel is my best friend," Luke recited once more.

"Okay, okay. Sorry. I guess...I was just seeing things," Peter said emptily. He stared into Luke's eyes and saw pure fear. Sadly, he changed the topic. "Where are your parents?"

"Oh, they're busy with Daniel," Luke muttered, "Look man. I appreciate you coming, especially since you barely know me. But the doc said I need rest."

"Alright," Peter sighed. "Later Luke." And he exited the room with his head spinning and his heart burning.

* * *

When Peter made it back home, he was almost in tears. Frustration ripped at his insides. He slumped in defeat, walking into the house.

He slammed it shut behind him.

"I hate this," He muttered to no one in particular.

"Do you always talk to yourself, Parker?"

Peter spun around to see Jace and the rest of his new teammates casually sitting by the wall. He blinked, realizing he had jumped up on the ceiling.

"We've been expecting you," Dorian grinned, chuckling as Peter grudgingly came down.

"What are you doing here?" He groaned.

"You left the door unlocked," Samantha said, not answering the question. Peter snatched his mask off so he could glare. Jace snorted.

"Told you guys he wasn't a murderer. Just look at him," He laughed. Peter shook his head.

 _The whole city must have heard that broadcast._

"Is it true Peter?" Jade asked. He understood her meaning.

"Um...Not exactly..." He smiled nervously. Jade's eyes narrowed.

"What did you do, dude?" Dorian said.

"Nothing! I was just watching when Ava did it!" Peter defended.

"Ava? Like your girlfriend from an alternate universe?" Jace asked. Peter scowled.

"No, like the Black Tiger."

The others' eyes widened. Samantha gasped slightly. Even Jace seemed unsettled.

"And what were you doing running around with Black Tiger?" He accused.

"She was just there!" Peter threw up his hands, sighing.

"And she would have killed Daniel Rand if Lucas hadn't saved him," Jade said softly.

"I can't believe he did that. Like, I wish I had someone who would die for me," Samantha admitted.

Peter smiled at her. He was reminded of how little he actually knew about his teammates. For all he knew, _they_ were murderers!

 _Man, I really need to ask about their origin stories._

"That's the thing," Peter sighed, "Luke didn't save him willingly. Danny pushed him into the way."

"Can we talk about the fact that you calling Mr. Rand, _Danny,_ just sounds unnatural. Like calling Bill Gates, _Billy,_ or something," Dorian said, missing the point.

"I think we can talk about that later Dorian," Jade said seriously.

"Fine. I get it. No one around here appreciates a little comic relief," He huffed.

"Daniel Rand _pushed_ him?" Jace asked. Peter nodded. He took a deep breath, dreading what he was about to say next.

"That, and I think I just found us our first mission."

"What do you mean, first? I thought we only had one, ongoing mission. Finding your wish demon," Samantha said.

"Well yeah but..."

"This is a side quest. Cool!" Dorian enthused.

"Ava," Peter stopped himself, " _Black Tiger_ said she'll be going after Danny tonight. And I think she wants me there."

"Easy. You don't go. Problem solved," Jace said, crossing his arms.

"Problem not solved. I can't let her kill anyone."

"Why not? She already has. Why do you think everyone's so afraid of her?" Jace argued.

"Well I can't let her kill anyone while I'm here! That's still my Ava!" Peter said.

"Maybe it isn't," Jade interrupted. "I mean, we've all known about her for a long time, and all of your other friends have grown up here. Maybe you're the only one here whose from your universe."

"But," Peter shook her head furiously, "No! This whole timeline isn't supposed to exist! It's still them, but different versions!"

"Okay, so what happens when you undo your wish? What happens to us? Do we stop existing?" Dorian demanded. Jade and Samantha nodded.

"I...I..."

"This timeline doesn't only revolve around you, " Samantha said kindly, "It's our home. It's still our timeline. So maybe the two coexist."

"AUs and time travel. Sounds like a bad fanfic," Dorian muttered. Peter couldn't help but agree. He slammed a hand down on the wall before any more headaches could be caused.

"I don't care who this Ava is! She won't kill while I'm here! Bottom-line! Everyone got that?"

"What's the plan?" Jace breathed. Peter took a breath.

"Okay. Since she didn't specify a time, we'll need to leave soon. Split up and patrol around. If anyone sees," He shot a look at Jade, "Or...um...senses her, call the others."

"Right because I'm sure that's what the Avengers and SHIELD and all other super groups use, _IPhones,_ " Damian said flatly.

"I actually don't have a phone," Samantha said. A few others nodded. Peter face-palmed.

 _They're right! How am I supposed to get us communicators without Doc Connors?_

Peter's eyes lit up.

"Doc Connors!" He exhaled. The others turned to him.

"We just need to break into SHEILD and find some comms!" Peter said excitedly. There was a moment of silence, before Jace started laughing. Dorian joined him.

"Break into SHIELD? Seriously? And I guess after we do that we can all go on a tropical cruise full of chicks in bikinis via the Wish Master!" He snorted.

Peter scowled.

"It's not that hard. Especially if you have height," He shot some webbing to demonstrate.

"Well then it's a good thing we can all sprout wings and fly! Oh wait," Jace rose his eyebrows in mock surprise, "No we can't."

"I'm not asking you to come if you don't want to," Peter said hotly.

"We all know you can't do it alone," Samantha started, "So we need to come. All of us."

"Then maybe we don't go up to the helicarrier. But we get it to come to us," Jade suggested.

Peter stared at her for a second. Then his brain caught up and he was working on a new plan.

"You're right! But in order to do that, we need to cause some panic," Peter grinned, rubbing his hands together like a mad scientist, "Let's go!"

* * *

Peter, Jade, and Jace were gathered on top of a skyscraper. He sent Dorian a text. Everyone was wearing odd masks and hats. He'd need to get them real costumes soon.

 **U ready?**

He waited a few seconds.

 **Locked and loaded XD**

Peter chuckled, hiding his phone in his boot.

"Okay, Smoke and Shadow Shard are in position. Get ready," He cautioned. Jace and Jade tensed beside him. Suddenly, a huge burst of white light flashed down in the city below.

Someone shouted just as an even bigger puff of black smoke billowed out of a nearby building. People were screaming now, all trying to locate the sources of the disturbances.

"Fire!" Someone screamed.

"Lightening!" Another cried.

"Perfect," Peter smiled. He knew Fury could probably see Dorian and Samantha using their powers, which meant that SHIELD would be sent in.

A few moments later, Peter glimpsed a black-clad agent with a SHELD logo. He heard the whirs of engines a second later. A black silhouette in the sky. But something was off.

"It's not coming down, is it?" Jade asked nervously.

"It doesn't matter. We'll just take the agents. Come on!"

Dorian and Samantha seemed to have come to the same conclusion because the smoke and flashes began shifting towards the building on which they were all standing. Screams came from people within, and soon Peter saw a pair of agents rushing up the fire escape.

"Let me guess," Jace smirked, "Go team?"

Peter grinned and launched himself at one of the agents.

They started shooting immediately, but the smoke made it difficult to aim. Peter shot webbing, missed, shot again, and just went for a front kick instead.

Jace and Jade were handling the other agent well, but more were beginning to swarm the rooftop. Shots decorated the air, moving in stop motion and sometimes hanging motionless thanks to Jace.

"We just want the tech!" Peter reminded.

"I think I got one!" Jade shouted, waving a small wristband.

Jace punched his agent to the ground before turning and round house kicking a different one in the face. He panted.

"And I was just getting into this!" He shouted, snatching a communicator off an unconscious agent's arm.

Peter was being much gentler than both his teammates. He danced around his agents, webbing their guns and feet. He darted in when one of them was open and ripped off their communicator.

"We need two more!" He yelled, not wanting to risk Dorian and Samantha. A flash of white light suddenly knocked a few agents down.

"Smoke! Shadow Shard!" Peter greeted the other heroes as they climbed up. Dorian and three agents disappeared beneath a cloud of black. He reemerged minutes later holding a communicator. Samantha swatted at her own agent, slapping one blinding hand into his face and taking his tech with her other.

"Got it!" They both yelled.

Peter grinned giddily. His team was doing it!

"Great! Move out!" He yelled, starting to swing off.

The others began moving towards the stairs. Jace froze time, allowing clear passage. They sped down the side of the building and into the frozen smoke.

Peter placed his communicator onto his wrist, but then thought better of it.

 _First I need to disable the tracker._

Peter swung above his teammates until they found a secure looking alley. He landed, facing the panting teens before him.

"You guys did amazing!" He squealed. Dorian gasped for breath, playfully glaring.

"Any chance we could get some web shooters too?"

Peter laughed, shaking his head. Jace's eyes twitched, and the sounds of the city began to integrate themselves into the atmosphere once more.

"That was pretty cool I guess," He feigned disinterest. Jade smiled.

"I've never done anything like that," She breathed.

"Well get used to it, because you guys are on team Spidey!" Peter chuckled, "Here, hand me your comms."

They tossed the metal watches to him and Peter opened them up one by one, pulling out the tracers.

He gave them back and they all equipped them.

"Cool," Samantha said, staring at her comm. Peter spent the next few minutes teaching them all how to use them, and how to put them into invisible mode.

It was late afternoon when they finally split up.

They stayed mostly within ten miles of the Rand building. Peter swung around attentively. If Tiger was going to show, he would find her.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed! Please review and, if you haven't already, definitely go see Deadpool!**

 **Wolf Out...**


	9. Harvesting Data

**Hey guys! So, I know it seems like most of the focus has been on everyone _but_ Sam, but don't worry. He'll get his spotlight soon enough. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

 **Reviews:**

 **True Beast 01: Depends on which universe's Tiger you mean...Thanks for reviewing!**

 **New Prussia: Thank you! You're right. Enjoy the chapter!**

 **Guest: Thanks! Glad you like it!**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218: Thanks, I'm going to need it! Yeah, Luke is practically Danny's slave. The origins will come soon-ish. Dorian actually does a lot in this chapter, so I think you'll like that. Ha, yep I think I confused myself slightly when I was explaining how the two world's work. Still not quite sure which explanation is correct though. XD**

* * *

It was late evening by the time Peter was ready to give up. He sighed. His shoulders were sore from swinging and he was bored out of his mind. He called up his team.

"Hey guys?" He spoke into his wrist. Only one screen came up, for a second. Jade's mouth twisted into a scream before her screen went dark. Peter blanched.

 _No no no no!_

He saw a black shadow slinking along the edge of the building. Peter internally yelled at himself and jumped down towards the building. The shadow slipped through a window and Peter followed.

He saw Black Tiger rummaging through Danny's penthouse.

"Ava!" He yelled. Tiger turned to him and smiled.

"I thought you'd come," She purred.

"What did you do to my friends?" Peter growled, coming closer.

"Nothing they didn't deserve. Didn't anyone ever tell you it's not nice to spy?" She placed her hands on her hips.

"I don't want to hurt you," Peter said nervously. Ava sashayed until she was close enough to slip her arms around Peter's neck. Peter shuddered, trying to pull away. She held tightly, and he felt her claws drumming against the back of his neck.

"Oh," She said, "But I really want to hurt you."

She leaned in and Peter felt faint. Her heat made him dizzy, too much to resist. So he put his hands around her waist and leaned in too. His arms closed around her. He allowed himself a brief second to breathe in the scent of her hair...

A dark stinking clump fell away. Peter jumped and Tiger only grinned as her eye bulged and bulged until it flew from its socket with a pop. Peter hurled her away. She fell limp, then floated up as if her back were tied to a string. Purple fabric swept over her, engulfing her.

Her tearing face receded into a hood.

"You ruined the moment, Petey dear," The Wish Master sang. Peter tasted bile. He had been about to kiss...

 _NONONONONO!_

From somewhere in the house he heard Tiger, the real one, yelling something. He heard his friends.

They were screaming.

"NO!" Peter yelled, turning away. The Wish Master teleported in front of him.

"Music box melodies are really just the horror screams of dollies always spinning, spinning, spinning terribly!"

"Get away from us!" Peter snarled.

"Spidey!" Dorian smashed into the living room, blasting smoke everywhere.

"Smoke!" Peter cried.

"Oh man. Oh man! She's everywhere! She took Jade and..." He panicked, then froze, spotting the purple-clad villain.

"You're him," Dorian mumbled just as Tiger pounced from the smoke and onto his back. She grinned with reddened teeth.

A roar ripped out from between her fangs, shaking the walls.

"Tiger stop!" Peter barreled past the Wish Master and flung white webs at her. She growled, clawing at the sticky substance on her face.

A black combat boot smashed into her head. Jade panted, covered in cuts and small wounds. Tiger whirled on her, only to have a greenish smoke invade her nostrils. She swayed slightly, and covered her face further with her mask.

Tiger turned and leapt from the room, running on all fours with a drunken tilt.

Dorian high fived Jade and Peter spun in circles, looking everywhere. The Wish Master had disappeared once more.

"Come on, we have to find the others," Peter breathed.

"What about Daniel?" Jade asked. Peter face-palmed.

 _Danny! I almost forgot!_

"We'll look for him on the way, come on!"

They ran through the penthouse, hearing Tiger's barks and yowls all the way.

A low growl made them stop. Peter shoved his head into a study and found a large, real black tiger snarling at Samantha and Jace.

"Shard, Pause," Peter yelled, throwing the tiger's attention.

Samantha was using a light dagger to keep it mostly at bay, and Jace was brandishing a fire extinguisher.

"Can't you stop time?" Samantha gasped, waving her glowing hands around.

"Apparently not with animals!" Jace snapped, swiping the heavy red canister at the tiger and missing.

Peter hurled webbing at the tiger's paws. The beast wailed, but was stuck.

"Come on!" He yelled. Samantha and Jace both inched around the big cat, limping and staggering.

"This is fantastic by the way," Jace muttered, "I couldn't think of any way better to spend my evening."

"We need to go," Peter yelled. They ran again, emerging in a smallish room with nothing but a small desk and a bookshelf. Tiger was laying on the floor, trying to get up.

"What did you do to her," Samantha whispered. Dorian shrugged, flashing a fist full of squirming smoke.

"You're too late...darling..." Tiger rasped.

Peter stiffened. Behind the desk, on the floor, was Danny.

In several pieces.

"No..." Peter sank to his knees. He raised a trembling hand to touch him.

A heavy iron door slammed down in front of the wooden one. Iron replaced every wall, the furniture was sucked into trap doors, and a smooth voice rang out over a hidden speaker.

"Hello mutants."

Peter's head snapped up.

 _Danny!_

"The body you see there is a decoy, prepared by Mr. and Mrs. Cage. Shame how you mistreated it, but I suppose I'll look over it."

Everyone stared up at the ceiling.

"What is this?" Jace demanded.

"Calm yourselves subjects. You will be merely harvested for research. My previous experiments have not been...successful..."

Peter's stomach coiled in fear at the sound of such a familiar laugh being used in such malice.

One of the walls vanished into a window, overlooking two creatures strapped to tables.

Everyone groaned and gagged, holding their stomachs.

One of the creatures was mostly covered with a white sheet. The other was a pinkish humanoid monster, too tall for the table and bony, with messily proportioned arms and legs bent at disturbing angles.

It had no eyes, merely dents where they were supposed to be, and a long toothy mouth stretched over its stomach.

"Please..." It sighed, "Danny...Why...I was going to take you to Kun'Lun...life is sacred...patience..."

Peter's heart plummeted several stories. He knew who the creature was.

"Is a virtue," Peter mumbled.

"What?" Danny shrieked suddenly. "How did you know that?"

Peter ignored him, glancing at his mutated on parents, and turning to Jace.

"Now would be a very good time to stop time, don't you think?"

Jace nodded and his eyes flashed. Everything froze.

"Okay, we just need to find a way out now," Jade spoke.

"Yeah, and fast," Jace said, leaning against a wall.

"Alright," Peter murmured, still unable to process much. "We can't break the walls..."

He looked around and spotted a miniscule vent, about the size of his hand.

 _I wonder..._

Peter bent down and peered into it.

"Jace, I need you to start things up again, but be ready to stop it. I think I have a plan."

Jace blinked and suddenly Danny was speaking again.

"I'm sure you've noticed the ventilation. My research proved that most mutants with genetically modified cellular structures are impervious to certain substances that would otherwise be deadly to regular humans. CO2, for example. Now, lets see which ones of you don't occur naturally..."

"If you have a plan, now would be a good time to share," Jade placed a hand on Peter's shoulder. He nodded.

"Did you know that most deadly gases are flammable?" He whispered.

"Oh yeah, right, exactly. All caught up. Everything is perfectly clear," Dorian rolled his eyes, rubbing his hands nervously.

Peter sighed, nodding at Jace.

"Just wait for my signal."

"Let's begin at 30,000ppm," Danny purred, "Which, in a regular human, should cause headaches and a slight loss of hearing."

 _Wait a second...who here was genetically modified?_

"Guys, was everyone born with their powers?" Peter muttered furiously.

Everyone nodded.

 _Great. Hopefully they'll still be fine..._

Samantha winced, hand rising to her temple.

"Interesting...100,000ppm," Everyone heard the grin in Danny's voice, "Breathing will become labored and you may experience loss of judgment."

Peter looked at his friends, some of which were not looking well. He felt fine.

 _I guess it's true what they say. A radioactive spider bite a day keeps the doctor away..._

Jace fell to his knees, groaning softly. Samantha was holding her head tightly, like she wanted to squeeze the pain out. Dorian was next to Jace, gasping for air.

Jade's eyes were lolling closed.

Even Tiger, still on the floor, was wailing and screwing up her face in pain.

 _Almost there..._

"Well then. Only the red and blue one? No bother. Just a little more..." Danny said.

"Jace now!" Peter cried.

Jace pried his eyes open and time stopped once more, he slumped.

"Dorian I need your most concentrated, flammable smoke right now. I think if we make it dense enough, it should combust."

Dorian nodded slowly, bringing his hands together into a ball. Black greasy gas emerged from his skin, curling into a sphere.

"More," Peter commanded.

Dorian squeezed, smoke pouring out. It was getting darker and darker as it was compressed.

"Maximum effort," He managed to mutter. Peter had just enough time to process the reference before Dorian's hands burst into flames.

"Whoa!" He shrieked.

"Throw it onto the vent!" Peter yelled. Dorian complied and Peter quickly webbed everyone, including Tiger, into a protective cocoon.

The poison exploded and everyone felt the heat sweep over the webbing. The walls melted slightly, then burst away with a clanging sound.

Peter let the cocoon fall, and grabbed Tiger in his arms. The others stumbled to their feet and followed him out of the room. The penthouse was in flames.

"The window!" Peter yelled.

"Hurts," Samantha mumbled, tripping and getting back up.

Peter bit his lip. His team wouldn't be able to get out. He took a breath.

"I'll be right back," Peter said, leaping out the window with Tiger. He web slung over to a nearby roof and set her down. Then he went back into the burning building and collected his friends, two at a time.

They all sat on the roof, exhausted and still partially drugged.

Jace collapsed in a heap, resuming time.

"I guess the mission was kind of a success..." Jade muttered.

Peter glanced at Tiger, still sleeping.

"Yeah. Kind of," He thought about all of his old friends, now completely different.

He felt his anger boiling. The Wish Master would pay.

"I guess we should head back to my place. Maybe get you guys some real costumes?" Peter tried to laugh, but it came out more as a dry rasp.

The others nodded, and slowly picked themselves up.

* * *

When they arrived back at Peter's house, spirits were still low.

The girls both left to go rummage through Peter's costume making items. Peter brought out some food and he, Jace and Dorian ate on the floor. Little more than half an hour went by, filled with casual chatter before Jace finally sighed.

"This isn't going to work," He said.

"What?" Peter turned to him.

"We're not good enough to stop anything. Especially not your fairy godmother."

"Hey! I stopped Black Tiger!" Dorian joined in.

"You got lucky. I'm just saying that if it was that hard to stop freaking Catwoman, it's going to be almost impossible to kill Wish Master."

"We're not killing anything!" Peter yelled.

"Oh okay, we'll just cage and confine the magical being who can teleport, shape shift and do pretty much anything he wants," Jace said.

"We'll be fine. We're a team!" Dorian argued.

"Oh yeah, and let me guess, friendship is magic?"

"Both of you stop it!" Peter huffed.

"Um, boys?" Samantha's voice interrupted the clamor. the boys turned to her and Jade, and froze in place.

Jade was wearing black leggings with green stripes on the sides and a black jacket over a green long sleeved shirt. Black gloves covered her hands and a green headband was placed in her hair.

She blushed, sensing the stares.

Samantha had a reddish purple, long sleeved crop top and tight burgundy pants with knee high boots. A golden triangular band wrapped around her middle and a golden cape hung from her shoulders. A mask of the same color covered her face.

Jace and Dorian both grinned coyly and Peter laughed at them.

The girls held up fabrics with identical smirks, jutting out their hips.

"Your turn," They said.

* * *

 **So, this was my favorite chapter so far. And I do not say that only because it had lots of Danny. Which chapter is your fav? Like I said above, Sam will eventually play a big role in this too. Just be patient!**

 **Wolf Out...**


	10. Genie In The River

**Hey! So, like I've said before, I'm moving. Sorry for the late update but I've just been out all day every day trying to find a house! No lie, I've been in hotels since December 27th. It's not fun. But anyway, enjoy!**

 **Reviews:**

 **Minx98: Thanks! And I couldn't have made this without the great OCs from people! Glad you like it! Thanks for reviewing!**

 **New Prussia: Ha! Same! He's much more fun to write than the real Danny, to be honest! I'm happy I'm doing well with Jade, she's a really cool OC!**

 **morgn: Thanks so much! Your review made my day! Glad you like the story! Enjoy the chapter!**

 **True Beast 01: Yeah...I didn't really do much with that. But her part in the story is not even close to finished. And Danny...yeah, I understand exactly!**

 **Man285: Thanks! And I don't usually like shipping, but I decided to try this out! Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Knight-errant217: Glad you like it! Thanks for reviewing!**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218: Thanks for being patient! I just need to find a way to work it in, while having it still work with the story. Haha, that scene was so fun to write! I didn't even plan it out that way but it just sort of happened! Oh and I'm usually pretty terrible at fight scenes, so I'm really glad you liked it! And yeah, Peter's just not wired for killing. Funny that you say that about Jace, I think you'll like this! Thanks for reviewing! Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Peter paced in front of Jace and Dorian with an annoyed sigh. They'd been in the house for hours, after subtly tipping off SHIELD that there was a Tiger on a roof that needed to be caught.

"What is it about superheroes that you don't get? Masks are important! That's the whole point of a costume!"

Dorian was wearing a leather body suit and black cape, face showing completely. He chuckled.

"And you!" Peter whirled around to point at Jace, "You don't even have a costume!"

Jace laughed. He had on a black leather jacket over a tight reddish shirt, and black jeans. He ran his hand through his hair, smirking.

"I do. I'm disguised as a model," He shrugged. Peter exhaled loudly.

"You should get a mask too, Jade," Peter told the girl. She shook her head.

"I don't think so."

Peter sputtered, hands flapping at his sides. He flung off his mask and hurled it at Jace.

"Look at this! I made this myself so that I could protect my identity!"

"My identity is tougher than yours, it doesn't need protecting," Jace said, twirling the mask in his fingers.

Peter glared, running a hand down his face. He breathed and snatched the mask back.

"Maybe we should figure out how to get to the Wish Master?" Samantha interjected.

Peter grumbled, sitting near her. He got serious and began playing with his fingers.

The Wish Master was a god. He could be anywhere whenever he wanted, and no one would know. Peter sighed, spirits failing.

"I don't know if we can," He said.

"Well we have to try," Jade said softly.

"I have tried!" Peter threw up his hands, "And every time I fight him I feel worse."

"What if we trick him into showing up?" Samantha asked.

"How?"

"Maybe there's a pattern or something. When does he usually show up?"

Peter thought. It seemed that each time he encountered the purple villain, he'd been alone.

 _No. More than alone...I was miserable..._

"I asked him once, if he enjoyed seeing me broken. He said that misery was food..." Peter recalled. He jumped up and started pacing once more.

"Do you think it was literal?" Dorian questioned.

"Maybe..." Peter thought hard. There was a lot that he didn't know about the Wish Master. And yet, it made sense.

It was always at his lowest points that the Wish Master showed up. Moments when he was upset. Moments when he wanted to give up.

Which meant that it'd be nearly impossible to force him to come, for how could he consciously make himself feel such pain?

"First, we need to know more about him," Peter concluded.

"How?" Jace asked.

"Anyway we can. Research, surveillance, anything!"

"Think my ghost finder app might help?" Dorian waved around his phone, showing off a brightly lit radar game.

Jade chuckled slightly, earning a proud grin from the boy.

"Jace, Jade, go out and try to look around. Dorian and Samantha, look up police records, SHIELD documents, whatever you can find."

"Where are you going?" Samantha asked.

"I need to try something," Peter said.

The group nodded and disbanded. Peter waited until he was sure they were gone, then exited the house.

 _I hope this works...I guess..._

He slung around the city, numb to the noises around him. He let his fingers slip off the sticky webbing and he flipped onto the side of an apartment building.

His heart rattled in his chest. Peter sniffed, then slowly crawled to each window until he spotted a man with graying hair. Peter knocked lightly.

The man turned and jumped.

Peter opened the window and poked his head inside.

"I was wondering when you'd show up," Uncle Ben grumbled.

"Hey...Uncle Ben..." Peter stuttered. Uncle Ben sighed and went to lock the door. He sat on the bed, crossing his arms.

"What do you want Peter?"

"I just wanted to apologize. Is Aunt May here?"

"Yeah. She's cooking."

"Can you get her? Please?" Peter sat awkwardly on the wall, playing with his hands.

Uncle Ben left the room and came back in a second later. Peter's lungs constricted. He winced as Aunt May walked inside. The door was locked again and everything went silent.

"Why didn't you tell me, Peter?" Aunt May finally sobbed.

Peter shook his head.

"I deal with some bad people. I didn't want either of you to get caught up in that," He tried to explain. His voice broke slightly.

 _I didn't want you to die. Like him..._

"I think we can protect ourselves Pete," Uncle Ben sighed.

Peter could have laughed. Almost.

"I'm sorry," He deadpanned.

"Good," Aunt May whispered, "But it's hard to earn back trust once it's gone."

Peter's heart fell. He knew it was a good thing. Bait.

And yet he had still hoped that he might be able to make amends. Somehow...

"Please go," Aunt May cried, turning away. Peter took off his mask, but didn't move.

"Pete, she said go. Don't make this worse," Uncle Ben said, a sad twinkle in his eyes. Peter bowed his head, crawling back out the window.

He waited on the roof for a while, trying to hold in his tears. His communicator buzzed.

"Hey," Peter greeted Jade, who smiled dryly.

"We haven't found anything yet. I don't think there's anything out here."

"Oh," Peter said, trying to seem surprised.

"But you already knew that, right? That's why you sent us out here," Jace popped up in the screen.

"What? No..." Peter lied.

"Obviously you wanted to do something alone, so I'm not going to ask you what. But next time, you could really just tell us, without sending us out on a wild goose chase," Jace raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry."

"Later Pete," Jade said.

"Bye..."

"Yo! Spidey!" Peter jumped slightly as Dorian's screen blinked on.

"What's up?"

"We might have found something! And it's seriously messed up," Dorian said eagerly. Peter blinked.

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Meet us at the library. We'll call the others!" Samantha whispered over his shoulder.

"I'll be right there!" Peter started, but his communicator switched off. The air felt thicker for a second.

 _I knew it! Come on out!_

Peter tensed his body. He thought he saw a flash of purple, before it quickly vanished. The atmosphere stilled. The communicator blinked back to life.

 _What? But..._

"Wish Master!" Peter yelled. But the roof was empty. It had seemed like he was so close. The demon had been there, and had somehow managed to escape.

But hopefully it wouldn't matter if the others had found something. Peter dived off the roof with cautious hope and swung through the darkening sky.

The library was a brightly lit building, full of pillars and cream colored stone. Peter landed in the back, removing his costume. The second he walked in he saw a librarian arguing with his friends.

"Disturb the patrons one more time and I'll kick you out myself!" She hissed.

"We aren't doing anything!" Dorian huffed.

"I've had to shush you three times! What are you teenagers doing on the computer anyway? Huh? Loitering here for nearly an hour and more and more of you keep showing up!" She pointed at Jace and Jade, who both scowled.

"School stuff," Samantha said casually.

"Let me see!" The librarian tried to peer over Dorian's shoulder.

"Um, hi!" Peter interrupted. Everyone turned to him. The librarian threw up her hands.

"I guess you're with them too?"

"Yeah...we're doing a project. We go to Midtown," Peter tried to explain. The librarian sniffed.

"Ha! My daughter goes there and she had friends in every grade! There is no project!"

"It's for extra credit. It's not assigned," Jace purred. "But if you really want, we can leave right now."

Peter glanced at him in surprise, but Jace was staring at the librarian. She froze, along with everything else other than the computer.

"You could've done _that_ five minutes ago," Dorian muttered. Jade smiled, walking over to touch the computer.

"So, what'd you guys find?"

"Well, we were looking things up for a while, and it was pretty much empty. Until we looked into the library's newspaper archive," Dorian said, enlarging the screen.

"We found this article," Samantha pointed to a black and white copy of a newspaper clipping. Peter read through the headline: **Genie-Man Grants Final Wish!**

A blurred picture of a body floating in the Hudson caught Peter's eyes. He quickly skimmed the rest of the article, heart rate quickening.

"He escaped from a hospital in Manhattan, and drowned himself the next day. It says that he'd been in custody for four years, suffering from delusions," Samantha said sadly.

"'This alleged, "Genie-Man", known to doctors as Patient T6, had a history of pretending to be different patients around the institution and even sometimes believed he was a god-like being, capable of flying, vanishing, and granting wishes," Peter read aloud, "Witnesses who saw him on the day of his death report being asked what their greatest desires were.'"

"That's horrible," Jade said softly.

"I can't find his name," Peter observed.

"He didn't have one when he came in. And since he kept switching between identities, they just gave him a number," Dorian stated.

Jade shook her head. Even Jace looked appalled.

"Is this the only article?" Peter asked.

"Yeah. It's like everyone just forgot about it after that day," Samantha glowered at the screen, as if she might scold the writers of the clipping.

"I'm going to print it," Jace reached over and pressed a few buttons.

"Oh, and there's something else," Dorian said.

"What is it?" Jade and Peter said simultaneously.

"This was published 80 years ago, and by the looks of it, he was already in his thirties."

"Which means the Wish Master is seriously old," Samantha added.

Peter's eyes widened. He had inherently known, of course, that the Wish Master had to be somewhat old. And yet...it still shocked him to hear it.

 _He sounds like an insane toddler...Not an old man..._

Peter straightened as Jace handed him the printed sheet of paper.

"We have a lead now," He said, glancing at the paper, "We can start chasing it tomorrow. Meet me at my place around noon. In the meantime, try to get some rest. I have a feeling we'll need it."

The others nodded. Samantha logged off the computer.

Jace resumed time.

"I think that's a great idea!" The librarian snarled, before blinking at their new positions around the computer.

"How did you do that?"

"Do what?" Jace grinned. The librarian gritted her teeth and rubbed at her temples.

"Whatever, just leave. And don't come back!"

Everyone smiled innocently and nodded, before going their separate ways.

* * *

 **So...this will all be explained in a little more depth eventually. But things are finally going to start getting deeper and more exciting from here! I hadn't actually realized how much shorter this story might turn out from my other ones. It's probably because the chapters are a lot bigger though.**

 **Wolf Out...**


	11. Nightly Insanity

**Hallooo! So, this is the origin chappie you've all been waiting for, with a lot of backstory/filler stuff. But it's important!**

 **Reviews:**

 **New Prussia: Thank you, and yeah, Peter's a bit uptight about things!**

 **True Beast 01: Yes he has, and that will come later. Enjoy the chapter!**

 **pownxmanonnie: Thank you! I'm glad you like it! Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Guest (1): Happy you like it! Thanks for reviewing and enjoy the chapter!**

 **Man285: I will!**

 **Guest (2): Ha! Yes! A lot of people say he's very Sam-like! Yeah, Wish Mast does like to taunt, and as far as the heartbreak, I'm happy I was able to make you feel something! It will be short mostly in the number of chapters, and not in the number of words. But I haven't decided on if I'll do a sequel yet. Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Peter slung through his window, clutching his papers with a death-grip. He carefully arranged them on his desk, eyes straying to the photo of the drowned man. he shuddered, feeling slightly ill.

The house felt so lonely without his family. Peter froze, hands going up to his lungs. His chest was burning suddenly, and he felt nauseated.

 _What's...happening..._

A moan escaped his lips and he slumped onto his bed, pressing his face into his pillow. The room spun, faster and faster until he was clutching his stomach to keep from vomiting.

"Oomph..." Peter breathed heavily, squeezing his eyes shut. Faster still everything ran, until the colors blurred together into blackness. His room darkened as the moon hid behind a cloud. Peter took one more breath, and then he was asleep.

* * *

Immediately, he was engulfed in purple sludge. It covered his body, oozing into his pores. Slimy tendrils of it tightened around his ribs, drowning him. He tried to scream and it only poured into his throat.

"A sea of lunacy sees insanity and welcomes it inside!" An ugly voice blared from everywhere and nowhere at once.

Peter gurgled helplessly, thrashing in the warmth.

"I warned him it would kill him but the kitty never listens!"

"Wistgr Mashfs!" Peter shrieked, trying to see past the purple waves that pushed him down. Panicking, he gasped for air and only swallowed more sludge. He couldn't breathe!

"Now he swims circles in this sea and never ever will he see his loved and cherished family that never was enough for he! Nothing was enough and now he's nothing too!"

The Wish Master's voice grew angrier and darker, and Peter's heart thumped loudly in his chest. He squirmed furiously, throwing his body through the space until finally, he surfaced long enough to speak.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?" Peter screamed.

"Out with old smiles and in with now frowns, new beats old with strength of weak mind!"

Peter's face fell as he was dragged back down. Further and further until his ears popped. His chest restricted painfully, and his legs flailed uselessly. Tendrils of purple smothered him, pushing into his mouth and nose.

But wait, Peter blinked madly. He could see something.

It was a body, floating down past him. It was black and white with blurred features, yet it emanated tangible pain. Fear.

Misery.

 _No! WISH MASTER STOP! Let me go! This isn't real!_

Peter choked as images began to flash before him.

A little boy was trapped in a forest fire, screaming as the smoke swallowed him. Then a girl, standing before her cowering parents, was crying as they kicked her out. She ran though the streets, hands flashing white. Peter's eyes widened. He watched a new girl, blind, turning away from some older kids who were laughing at her.

And finally, a boy was wandering through the streets, staring into windows where children laughed and ate with their parents. He scowled, hoisting his bag of stolen possessions further on his shoulder, but Peter could see his sadness.

 _Wait...are those..._

Peter struggled harder, tears mingling with the sweat on his face.

"They and you think you'll protect, really you're their worst threat yet!" Wish Master leered from all around him.

 _I don't understand! Please! Let me go!_

"No one understands the loopy mind of breaking strands that bleeds and bleeds and bleeds and _nobody_ else ever cares!"

Peter startled. It seemed the villain could hear his thoughts!

 _I know who you are! You're not a monster! Just listen to me!_

"You think you know, you know we're one, but puzzles have pieces more than one! Pain is instant, joy is finite, fear is an illusion. Misery is eternal!"

The voice grew sharper and angrier still, until Peter could feel his passion as if it was his own.

His head felt light. He knew the Wish Master was giving him information. Something important. But he couldn't grasp it.

The warmth was becoming unbearable, burning his skin. The ocean darkened around him, pulsing like it had a heart beat. His eyes were on fire, and his lungs seared.

Everything slipped away and Peter opened his eyes to the darkness of his room. He jolted up, panting and gasping for breath. He clutched his chest and throat and hyperventilated until his head tingled.

Sweat drenched his entire bed, and his clothes stuck to his skin. Peter stood up and fell back down, gagging and coughing.

His head pounded and he trembled, still able to feel each sneaky tendril of purple trying to drown him.

Finally, after nearly ten minutes, Peter stood up and crossed to his desk. He didn't want to go near the bed anytime soon.

As he settled into his chair, he grabbed a blank notepad and scribbled down everything he could remember from his dream.

 _But was it a dream?_

Peter exhaled. He remembered seeing these images, of children. Sad, familiar children.

His teammates.

There was no doubt that it was them. And they had seemed miserable, different from when Peter saw them now. He looked back at his notes.

The Wish Master had said that they thought he would protect them...right? But then...

 _I'm their greatest threat?_

Peter's heart shook. There was something he was missing. There was something behind the Wish Master's words that explained so much, he could _feel_ it!

Yet it was just beyond him.

* * *

In the morning Peter was still at his desk, eyes wide and rimmed with red. He blinked owlishly at the sun coming in through his window, and ran a hand through his tousled hair. He felt exhausted.

Peter got up and stumbled to his closet, flinging on his costume. Nothing ever woke him up quite like swinging through the city. He practically fell out of the window, weakly shooting a web just in time to catch himself.

He surged upwards, the brightness of morning hurting his eyes.

 _Ugh! This is horrible!_

Peter had only traveled a mile or so before his spidey sense went off like crazy.

 _Uh oh!_

Peter's head snapped back, trying to locate the danger. A bullet, twice the size of a normal one, skimmed his sides and shot past. Peter screamed, hand going to his bleeding side. He was too high for bullets though, wasn't he?

He noticed the helicopter appear from nowhere, bristling with the most heavily armed soldiers he'd ever seen outside of SHIELD.

"Surrender yourself or forfeit your rights!" A soldier yelled.

 _Wait a second..._

Peter saw a familiar logo pasted on the sides of the helicopter and weapons. Rand Co.

Of course.

Peter spun immediately and let do of his webbing, shooting downwards through the air. The helicopter disappeared again, but the shimmer in the air suggested it was coming after him.

 _He cloaks his helicopters?! Seriously!_

He shot a web and was hurled to the left, bullets flashing past him.

 _He can't shoot in public!_

Yet, as he looked around, Peter saw how empty the streets were. His eyes widened. This must have been scheduled somehow! His side was beginning to hurt worse, and he could barely swing without screaming. He hurtled through the air, flipping between some narrowly spaced buildings.

A red spot grew under his costume. But Peter kept going, straining every muscle in his body to gather every inch of distance he could. The helicopter was losing ground, unable to navigate the tight spaces.

 _At least I'm awake now..._

Peter's body curled in on itself and he lost control. Webbing slipped through his fingers and he fell onto a roof, rolling and tumbling to the center. He moaned, willing himself to his feet. Another massive bullet screeched past him.

He ran, diving off the roof and through the packed skyscrapers once more. Peter swung for what felt like hours, doubling back and trying to leave false trails. He couldn't go much longer without resting.

He was just contemplating letting himself fall before the helicopter became visible for a few seconds. It was heading away from him, confused. Peter ducked down below a ledge and waited until it had moved far enough away.

Then he high tailed it back to his house and collapsed on his bedroom floor, holding his side.

He heard the lock click downstairs.

"Peter?" Jade called out.

"Oomf...Up here!" Peter grunted.

His team appeared at the top of the stairs, rushing forward when they spotted him.

"How come every time we meet up, you're bleeding?" Jace asked.

"Bandages in the closet!" Peter said, rolling around slightly. Dorian ruffled through his things before grabbing a first aid kit, and coming over with the bandages. Together, they all helped wrap Peter's wound as well as they could.

"So...what happened?" Samantha said. "You look terrible."

"Oh nothing, just spent my morning getting shot at by a Rand Co. chopper...you know, the usual," Peter deadpanned.

"Is that what it was?" Dorian gasped, showing off his phone screen. There was a warning not to go out from eight to eleven, due to military testing.

Peter nodded, rubbing his side. His spider powers would heal it soon enough.

"Ok, but why do you look like you spilled zombie makeup all over your face?" Jace asked coolly. Peter glared.

"Wish Master came to me last night. He tortured me in some kind of dream...only it was real. He was really there and he showed me things..."

Now the group was interested. They waited for him to elaborate and Peter sighed.

"I think he showed me you guys. But, before I met you. Dorian," Peter turned to the large teen, "I saw a little boy trapped in a forest fire."

Dorian smiled sadly, shuddering slightly.

"It was when I first discovered my powers. I ran away after that. I haven't seen my dad since."

Jade placed a hand on his shoulder and he tried to grin. Peter nodded, shocked, yet excited that his theory was proving true.

"Jade. I saw a blind little girl getting bullied in a school."

She nodded sadly.

"Yeah. It was rough. Even my parents don't know how to handle me."

"Samantha! Your parents kicked you out?"

"They were just scared. We all were. I just freaked out on my cat one day..." She said in an almost whisper.

Peter turned to Jace, excitement growing. The dream must have been real.

"Jace, you wish you were still with your family?"

Jace scoffed.

"I don't need them. I busted out of Xavier's school a few years ago and I've never been happier," He crossed his arms, killing the "sharing" mood.

Peter blinked and looked at each of his teammates.

Sadness filled the room. He had been meaning to talk to them about their pasts, but he hadn't thought...

 _Why can't superheroes ever have nice happy families and nice happy homes and nice happy lives! Just once! ONCE!_

Peter sighed wryly.

"You really did see us," Jade whispered, "Why?"

"I don't know," Peter confessed. He wondered if he should mention the fact that he was supposed to be a threat. He decided against it. There wouldn't be anything without trust.

"Did Wish Master say anything? In your dream?" Dorian asked. Peter nodded uncomfortably and snatched his notes off his desk. He read them out, except for the threat part, and waited. The group was silent for a while.

"It sounds important, whatever it is," Jace said.

"Yeah, but I don't know what it means."

"The first part sounds almost like a story, doesn't it?" Dorian mused.

Peter reread it quickly. It did sound like a narration.

"We just need to know who he's talking about. Maybe it's you?" Samantha said. Peter shrugged. He had thought about that also, and yet something felt off about it. They thought for a while, coming up empty. Peter eventually huffed.

"Hey, where do you guys live?"

The team suddenly looked uncomfortable. Jade shrugged.

"I live with my parents, up in Canada. But I travel a lot. I'm in a hotel right now," She answered. The others looked at her with mixtures of jealously and shock.

"My parents are here, but they don't know where I am," Jace said.

"Same," Samantha smiled slightly.

"My dad lives in New Hampshire still, I think. I ran away when I was little," Dorian contributed.

"Wow," Peter said. He paused for emphasis.

"Would you guys, maybe, like to move in?" He asked, trying not to sound weird. He missed having people in his house, especially teammates.

Everyone froze.

"Seriously?" Dorian asked.

Peter nodded.

Shaky grins broke out amongst the heroes. Jace smirked, tossing his hair.

"Whatever. If you insist."

* * *

 **Yay! Finally finished! Please review! OH! And if any of you want to try and decipher the major plot points hidden in the Wish Master's dialogue, go ahead and tell me about it in the reviews, I love hearing your interpretations!**

 **Wolf Out...**


	12. Family Outing

**HEY GUYS! Oh dear, I can't even begin to explain why this is so late. I think I might have a Wish Master of my own because the past few weeks have been _miserable!_**

 **I'll try to keep this rant short: We spent two and a half months looking for a new house, and we just found one and moved in about a week ago. All of our furniture arrives and is assembled, and then we realize that this house has faulty (dangerous) wiring and electrical issues, the heat doesn't work so I almost froze to death writing this chapter, there is mold, and we have a roach infestation. _Fantastic!_ So now we're looking for a new one. AGAIN!**

 **Oh yeah, and because of this we haven't had internet for almost two weeks. So yeah, sorry readers!**

 **Reviews:**

 **True Beast 01: Ha! Yeah! And that's just Danny's style...or, now it is!**

 **New Prussia: Yep! I actually hadn't realized that until I wrote that chapter! And yeah, WM isn't your typical villain. In more ways than one...;)**

 **Man285: Thank you! I'll try to find some more places to insert SpideyxTiger, but no promises!**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218: Thanks, glad you liked the dream sequence! Yeah, Samantha's is quite sad. Danny is incredibly obsessive! More so later. Good guess, but not quite. And I've watched the new season and I'm not super impressed. Ever since they introduced the New Warriors the main team has gotten less and less screen time! And they just keep adding new characters! Ugh!**

 **Chaos: Hey! I've missed hearing from you! Thanks so much for telling me Jace's costume, I'll mention it in probably the next chapter! Glad you're still reading!**

* * *

The next week went by slowly. Everyday, they all went out to look for anything that might lead them to the Wish Master, but the villain had stayed away.

And every day, Peter's agitation grew. He needed to get home soon. And this goose chase method wasn't working.

"This is the longest movie in the world," Jace moaned. He was sprawled on the couch, watching The Fellowship of the Ring with Dorian. Jade was on the other couch with Peter, listening to the movie. Samantha was in the kitchen. It was her turn to make dinner.

"It's the longest _work of art_ in the world!" Dorian huffed.

"Everything they do is so unnecessary!" Jace said. "Why can't they just ride the giant freaking eagles to the volcano and shove the ring in? Why do they have to walk so far?"

"Because it's an adventure!" Dorian argued.

"Ugh!"

"I like it," Jade smiled.

"What kind of a name is Frodo? What kind of an idiot puts all the world's power into one ring? And why a ring? Obviously it gets lost way too easily. Why not...like...a battle axe or something? Or a throne? Or an elephant?"

"THIS IS MY FAVORITE PART SHUT UP!" Dorian screamed.

Peter watched them argue, going through stacks of notes and theories. He still had no idea what the Wish Master's message might have meant. He sighed.

"You should stop worrying," Jade said to him. Peter blinked tiredly.

"I can't. I need to fix things."

"Not like that though. Come on, we should all go out to eat. It'll be fun!"

"Samantha's cooking," Peter said. A white flash of light exploded from the kitchen.

"Stupid oven!" Samantha yelled. "Should've cooked faster!"

Jace sat up slowly.

"Yeah...let's go."

Peter smiled wryly as Samantha stalked out of the kitchen, covered in oil and flour.

Dorian grudgingly shut off the movie, and Samantha quickly cleaned up. Peter really didn't feel like going, but he figured all his obsessing was probably doing more harm than good.

 _Just one night. Then we can get serious again._

Together they walked out of the house and headed down the street. None of them had driver's licenses, and even if they did, no one had a car. Peter itched to just web sling all the way into the city, but he couldn't just leave his friends to walk. Although Dorian had mentioned he had a motorcycle...

Still. They would all go together.

 _Ugh! I miss my SpiderCycle...but SHEILD never gave it to me here!_

It took an hour for the teens to get into the city, and another fifteen minutes to decide on where to eat. They eventually went to the new Denny's in town that had opened a few weeks ago. A smiley waitress sat them at a booth near the window.

"Can I take your order?" She asked, eyeing Dorian.

"Um...can we have the group breakfast special?" Peter ordered.

"Sure! What sides would you like?"

"Toast," Peter muttered uncomfortably.

"Does it come with pancakes?" Jade asked.

The waitress nodded and left with the order.

"She was totally checking me out, right?" Dorian whispered.

"Sure hobbit-head," Jace snickered. He stood up, "I'll be back."

"Where are you going?" Samantha called.

"Bathroom," Jace shrugged unconvincingly. He grinned before leaving.

Peter rubbed his head, still thinking about everything that had happened to him.

"Maple syrup is definitely a food," Jade was saying. Dorian nodded in agreement.

"No it's not, it's a condiment!" Samantha said.

"Same thing," Dorian shrugged. "Right Pete?"

Peter looked up in surprise. He hadn't been listening.

"Uh..."

"Ugh, Peter! Just relax! You're going to make yourself sick," Samantha sighed in annoyance.

"I just want to find him," Peter explained.

"We all do," Jade reminded him. "But you need to know when to step back a little."

"Speaking of which..." Dorian tossed his head towards the bar area.

"You can't have that, kid!" The bartender growled.

"You gave it to me," Jace smirked, holding a cup of reddish black liquid.

"No I did not because I would never give alcohol to a teenager!"

"I'm twenty one," Jace lied.

"Even if you were, you still can't steal drinks."

"I didn't. You gave it to me. And you're about to give me another one," Jace told him. He stopped time, finished his drink, walked to the bar and swiped another one off the counter, then went back to stand in front of the bartender.

Peter watched him resume time.

"Great," He groaned.

"Should we help?" Dorian asked.

"I don't know...he seems to have it under control..." Samantha said.

"What did you just..." The bartender sputtered. Jace looked at him coolly. The bartender snatched the glass from Jace's hands.

"I don't know how you're doing this, but I can still call the cops."

"Fine, if you want to get arrested for giving a kid alcohol, that's your problem," Jace chuckled. Then he turned and walked back to the table.

"What was that?" Peter yelled at him. They watched the bartender stalk back to the counter, a look of frustration on his face. He didn't go near the phone.

"What?" Jace said innocently, "I'm just having fun."

"Could've grabbed some for us," Dorian muttered.

"Dorian!" Peter lectured.

Jace hiccupped, smiling with slightly glazed eyes.

"Here's your meal!" The waitress reappeared out of nowhere, carrying plates of pancakes, bacon, eggs, and hash browns. The smell was heavenly as she set the food down on the table.

"Thanks," Dorian smirked at her, wriggling his eyebrows slightly. She batted her eyes and left.

Peter couldn't help but laugh. As they ate, they made small-talk, all trying to avoid mentioning Wish Master. Jade drowned her share of the pancakes in maple syrup and instructed Dorian on the perfect ratio of 'cake to syrup.'

"Trust me, I'm Canadian. I know pancakes," She giggled.

Peter had to say he was enjoying himself. He felt at home. And a part of him wished he could stay there, like that, forever. But no. He needed to get home.

 _No Peter! Stop thinking of that! There'll be time for that later. Focus on the food. This is the best thing I've ever tasted!_

Peter shoveled eggs into his mouth, trying to engage occasionally in the conversation. The group debated on whether or not Dorian had a shot with the waitress, and on who cooked the best.

"You all are pretty terrible," Jace snorted.

"Hey! It was the oven's fault!" Samantha retorted.

The waitress checked on them a few times, and then Peter finally asked for the check.

"Here you go!" She smiled brightly.

Everyone helped pay, though it was mostly Peter who took care of the bill, and then it was time to leave. Time to break the perfect evening out with his friends and return to uncertainty. Failure.

And yet Peter didn't feel like a failure. In that moment, he actually felt pretty confident. Happy, even. Jace stepped out of the booth and clutched onto the table for a second.

He looked kind of pale. Peter sympathized. He felt slightly sick too, probably something disagreeable in the food. That, or the fact that they'd all completely pigged out.

They walked outside into the night. The air was still warm, and Peter was debating on whether or not to hail a cab. Change jingled in his pockets, but that wouldn't be enough.

 _Guess we're walking back..._

"Come on," He called out to his friends. Jade rubbed her hands over her face tiredly.

"Do we have to walk?" She groaned.

"Yeah," Peter said.

They crossed the street and began their long journey. But they'd only walked about five minutes when Peter noticed that Jace wasn't exactly walking in a straight line anymore.

"Is it the drinks?" Jade asked with equal parts of amusement and worry. She placed a hand on his shoulder.

"'Course not! 'm not 'ven t'psy," Jace slurred, before his eyes unfocused and he collapsed on the sidewalk.

"Jace!" Everyone cried out. He didn't move, unconscious.

Peter looked around frantically to check if anyone had seen, but the usually busy streets were uncharacteristically empty. Jade yawned, not seeming very worried. She took a wobbly step forward and fell next to Jace.

"Tired..." She mumbled.

Peter shook her.

"Jade! Jade! Hey, stay with me! What's wrong?"

She muttered something incoherent, then passed out.

Now Peter felt it. A wave of exhaustion and confusion. He blinked blearily, trying to speak. His voice sounded heavy and slow to his ears. He watched as Samantha and Dorian also dropped. His eyelids drooped for a second and suddenly he found himself lying on the floor. He fought to stay awake as darkness called to him.

 _Why can't things ever just go right for even one day?_

Peter woke up with his head pounding. His vision blurred in and out of focus, but he seemed to be in some kind of alleyway.

"Peter?" Samantha gurgled. She was slowly waking up, rubbing her face. "Where..."

"I don't know," Peter croaked. He sat up and his stomach lurched.

Yep. Definitely an alley.

He cracked a smile.

"This could only happen to me," He said. Samantha grinned wryly.

"What _did_ happen?"

Peter dug through half-coherent memories. His face felt hot and his head still tingled slightly.

"We blacked out," He concluded dumbly.

"Obviously. But why?" Samantha asked.

"I think...I don't know...I felt kind of sick after we ate..." Peter struggled to remember. Samantha nodded.

"Me too. Do you think they put something in it?" She mused.

 _Yeah, and I think I know who..._

Peter was about to speak again when a shadow appeared in front of them. The darkness parted, revealing the overly perky waitress.

 _Oh hey, I was right! What do I win?_

"Hello drunken ducklings! How was the food?" She giggled. Her blond hair waved around as she spoke. Peter scowled.

"What are you doing?" He yelled.

She smiled.

"Oh Petey dearest! Don't you recognize me?" She growled. Her voice changed and her outfit loosened into a robe.

A purple robe.

 _Not again! Not again!_

"You!" Peter shrieked.

"Slips in the cakes make dips in the brain!" Wish Master taunted, levitating in front of Peter. Samantha gasped.

"Is that him?" She whispered.

"Him is me and me is all! Keys to doors have gone unloved! Why bother with old when the gift is a present?"

Peter leaped to his feet, only to shake and sway enough to fall back down. Dorian stirred next to him, starting to blink open his eyes.

Samantha hurled a light shard at Wish Master, but it flickered and faded before reaching him.

"I'm too weak," She muttered.

"The weak invited me, called out to me, and now all scream inside of me! You're almost here! So near so clear! Soon trapped inside your maze's mind!" Wish Master screeched gleefully.

Dorian yelped as he recovered his wits. He disentangled himself from Jade, who he had somehow ended up hugging in his sleep.

"Did you freaking drug us?" He demanded. Wish Master turned to him, white pinpoint eyes glowing madly.

"Failures make my favorite meals! They only last a couple years! Anew! And soon, the dust will be replenished!"

"Whoa," Dorian muttered. Peter watched as he tried to produce smoke, but only a few puffs came out. Whatever magic the Wish Master had used on them, they were still feeling the effects.

"How about things are even made? To quicker winning in this game?" Wish Master waved his arms and Jade and Jace began to wake up.

Jade moaned loudly, clutching her head.

"How many did I have?" Jace rasped, gagging into his hands.

They both froze when they heard the Wish Master speak next.

"Now all have seen and all have known. Time's not alone in growing old and all of you will spin forever, always toiling, turning, hurting, into his web of pain!"

Peter felt the glances from his friends, but kept his eyes glued on his enemy. He knew what this was. This was a message.

The Wish Master could be anyone.

Go anywhere.

And was always watching.

Peter would never win. It was impossible.

"Why do you do this?" Jade asked. The Wish Master whirled on her. "Why do you need misery so much?"

"Not the it, the who! The who who feeds the it and thus feeds me so I can live to hurt another who!"

"What are you saying?" Samantha spoke, trying to form another shard.

"All villains have some kind of tragedy," Jade continued, "What's yours?"

Peter's eyes widened.

 _What is she doing!?_

Wish Master seemed to spasm, jerking in random directions for a second. He shot high into the air and the sky darkened dangerously.

"STOP IT! YOU ASKED FOR IT! YOU WANTED IT! SHUT UP!" He shrieked. Everyone froze. Peter's mouth hung open.

"Keep talking!" He screamed at Jade. But by the time the blind girl was speaking again, the villain had already disappeared.

* * *

 **I'm one of those people who really enjoys spoiling books, movies, tv shows, and pretty much everything that has any sort of twist ending...so you have no idea how much I want to just tell all of you everything that's going to happen in this story! Ugh! I need to stay strong! Please review! Interpretations and theories are always welcome! Have any of you ever had weeks when you felt like _you_ had a Wish Master?**

 **Wolf Out...**


	13. Green Goblin

**Happy late Easter! This chapter was kind of hard to write, so it may not be my best. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Reviews:**

 **True Beast 01: Yes, yes he does. Wow, I know how that is. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **New Prussia: OOH! Please tell me! I would love to know your interpretation! Yeah, I kind of borrowed that from your story, hope you don't mind! It helps me a lot though when the OCs people give me also have their own stories already, so I can figure out the character better. Jace...well Jace is just Jace. He can't be fixed. XD Moving is hard, hope things get better!**

 **itharukameo1: Thanks! Glad you like the story!**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218: I know right, the team needs a promotion! They've all worked so hard and they just get pushed aside! Glad you liked the movie part! That's pretty much what happens every time I try and force my friends to watch Lord of the Rings with me! Interesting Wish Master theory, but not quite! Thanks for reviewing!**

* * *

It was past midnight by the time Peter and his friends finally dragged themselves home. Jade immediately claimed the couch, sparing no room for anyone else.

Peter sat down on the floor, unwilling to walk up the steps. His body was exhausted, but his mind was buzzing with excitement. They'd made a chip in the ice, and that was all it took.

A few of the Wish Master's phrases made sense now. Wasn't he always talking about time? New and old?

And when Jade has asked him about _his_ past...who _he_ was...

Peter grinned tiredly. The next time they met, he'd finally be ready.

Samantha and the boys raided the closets, spreading out blankets and pillows. One was thrown at Peter's face, and he caught it, placing it under his head. The others made themselves comfortable on the living room floor, falling asleep quickly. Peter closed his eyes.

It was a bright morning when Peter woke up. Everyone else was still sleeping. He yawned, slipping into his costume. He figured he'd go out and do some patrolling. This might've not been his earth, but it still deserved saving. Although things did seem much calmer here.

Well, not counting the crazy millionaire and even crazier demon that were after him. He walked outside, swinging easily into the air. Peter headed for the city. It still unnerved him how similar it all was.

It could have been his. Peter chuckled to himself. He almost wished he could be chasing Batroc the Leaper down an alley.

 _Yeah. Good times..._

His daydream ended abruptly as he heard a sudden, shrill scream pierce the air. And another. And another. Peter whirled around and froze mid-air.

A scaly monster was ripping through the streets, roaring and bellowing and laughing.

Pointed ears clutched the sides of its ugly face, and sharp teeth glinted in its jaws.

It jumped, leaping up the side of a building with the agility of a monkey, green skin reflecting in every window.

 _No way..._

Peter stared. It was him. The Green Goblin.

And he was angry.

Peter fumbled with his communicator.

"Guys!" He yelled.

Four tired faces filled the screen.

"What is it Peter?" Samantha asked.

"We've got trouble. Get here now."

"Where are you?" Dorian said.

"Just come downtown. Trust me, you'll see me."

Peter shut off the videos, then took a breath. He'd beaten him loads of times in the past, and he could still do it now.

He shot a web and slid down.

"Hey Osborn!" He yelled. Goblin turned and Peter slammed his foot into his face. He roared, lurching back.

"You!" Goblin screamed.

"You've heard of me?" Peter asked. "In this universe?"

Goblin snarled, raising a meaty arm and smacking Peter away. He flew, smashing into a building. Peter groaned, rubbing his head.

"Thanks Spidey Sense," He muttered sarcastically. He leaped up again. Goblin was now near the top of the building. He reached a clawed hand into a window, seeming to search.

 _What is he doing?_

Peter webbed his back and pulled. Goblin pitched backwards, before falling straight down, pulling Peter with him.

"Aaaaah!" Peter screamed, bracing himself. They landed. A massive, goblin-shaped hole in the ground was formed and dust exploded into the air. Goblin seethed, slowly getting up.

"Norman!" Peter called, "Listen to me!" He webbed the monster's hands and feet.

"NO!" Goblin shouted, breaking free of the sticky substance that held him, "Stop calling me that!"

"It's who you are! You need to remember!" Peter tried again. Goblin was on his feet now, stepping closer and closer. His teeth were bared. He seemed different than the one Peter knew. Younger. Less refined. Impulsive.

And much, much bigger.

"I'm not Osborn!" Goblin screeched. Peter stopped. His blood ran cold, rushing through his veins like a train.

"What..."

"I'm supposed to kill him. That's why Rand made me! He did this to me!" Goblin roared. "But first, I'm going to do what I've always wanted to do!"

"Ra...Danny?" Peter stuttered. His head lightened. His limbs tingled.

 _Don't faint! Don't faint!_

Peter blinked furiously, trying to bring himself back to earth. This couldn't be right! This was Norman. This had to be Norman Osborn. That's how the story worked. That's how everything was.

"Wait!" Peter held up his hands. "Tell me who you are and I'll help you!"

Goblin scoffed.

"Yeah. Just like all the other times you wanted to help."

And with that he jumped, high over Peter's head and back onto the building. Peter stood for a moment, completely shocked. Then his senses took over again and he spun around.

"Spiderman!" He looked to see his teammates rushing over. Jace planted his boots, folding his arms. He looked up at Goblin.

"That's new."

"Yeah, and dangerous," Peter said dryly. "Come on!"

He shot upwards, not bothering to wait. Peter swung forward, ramming his fists into the monster's face. Goblin punched aimlessly and Peter ducked, kicking off from the building and back into the air.

He shot web after web, but Goblin broke them all. He shoved his hand through that same window again. Screams erupted from inside.

"Come out come out wherever you are!" Goblin sang. Then he choked. Black smoke was wafting up into his eyes and mouth. He waved his arms frantically, trying to disperse it.

Out of the smoke came a foot. Jade slammed into Goblin's face, pushing off before he could hit her. She somersaulted in the air and Peter caught her with a web, swinging her onto a nearby ledge. Goblin huffed. He grabbed a piece of the wall and pulled it away, hurling it at Jade.

It flew into her, knocking her off the building. Peter dropped down to catch her while Samantha and Jace leaped onto the ledge. Jace narrowed his eyes about to pause time when Goblin grabbed him, flinging him off the top of the building. Samantha threw light shards into Goblin's eyes. They exploded on contact, blinding him. He flailed around, but the smoke was getting even thicker, turning a shade of green.

"Everyone move!" Dorian yelled from the roof. Samantha dived away as Goblin began to sway. He clutched uselessly at the broken wall, then he fell. And the top half of the building came with him.

Dorian shrieked as the roof collapsed in on itself. He fell through it, sucked into the rubble. Samantha ran to help but a piece of plaster toppled over beside her, knocking her window ledge loose. She plummeted.

Meanwhile Peter was on the ground with Jace and Jade. He looked up, eyes widening.

"PAUSE!" He shrieked. Jace stopped time immediately. Samantha froze mid-air, a look of terror on her face. The building stopped collapsing, and Goblin hovered inches off the ground.

"Get everyone clear," Peter ordered. They ran off, collecting civilians. Peter hurtled up, landing on a floating piece of ceiling. He grabbed Samantha and Dorian, just as time resumed. With a crash that seemed to shake all of Manhattan, Goblin slammed into the earth.

"AAAAH!" Samantha and Dorian both screamed, before realizing they were on the ground.

Peter's mind raced. Now what?!

 _You're the leader! So LEAD!_

He looked around frantically. A mother and child were huddled next to the reviving Goblin. And some idiot kids were trying to film the whole thing. He looked back at the building.

There were people inside. And they would die if he didn't help. Peter bit his lip. He couldn't see Jace and Jade. Could he leave his teammates?

Someone shrieked as Goblin stood up. He was heading for the mother and child. Peter steeled himself.

"Smoke, Shadow Shard," Peter commanded, "Distract Goblin."

They nodded and Peter reentered the building, searching. Screams surrounded him immediately. He needed to be fast.

Wading through rubble, he made it to the stairs. He climbed. Someone was there.

"Hey!" Peter yelled, "Hello?"

"Please...Help..." A strangled voice squeaked from nearby. Peter crouched down. There was a little girl, trembling in a corner.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," Peter whispered, crawling over. She burst into tears. Her leg was twisted beneath the stair railing. Peter's heart wavered. He heard the walls groaning. The whole place was about to come down.

"I'm going to get you out okay? You just need to be brave. Can you do that?" Peter asked, wrapping his fingers around the fallen railing. The girl's lip shook and she raised her big eyes to stare at Peter.

Eyes that were so familiar.

She nodded and Peter pulled. The railing lifted just slightly, and the little girl inched her way out. Peter grunted as a large desk fell down through the ceiling. The girl shrieked. Someone else was screaming upstairs.

 _Come on! Faster!_

He scooped up the girl in his arms and quickly dropped her off outside. He checked on his teammates. He watched as Dorian threw Jade at Goblin. Peter smiled sadly.

 _Fastball special. Just like Fist and Powerman..._

Then he saw Goblin grab Jace and slam him into the concrete. Repeatedly.

Peter bit his lip and ducked back inside the building. He needed to help them. He hurried upstairs and found a man and woman huddling by the back wall. Peter grabbed them, wrapping them in a web.

"HEY! Let go!" The man screamed. "Where's our daughter?"

"She's safe," Peter assured them.

"Kaelynn? Where is she! What did you do!" The woman sobbed. Peter dived for the window. And everything collapsed.

"NO!" Peter cried. He fell straight through the floor. A bedframe rolled down, jamming into his chest. The air fled his lungs and he gasped, eyes bulging.

He saw what was left of the roof, plummeting down towards him.

"Go," He told the coupled, barely audible. "GO!"

They stumbled out of their webbing and staggered outside. Peter struggled to his feet, trying to find the door. But there were two couches blocking it now.

He shot webs at them, dragging himself along the floor just as feet of wood and plaster and stone crashed to the floor. He pulled hard, eyes squinting shut. His arms shook. The couches gave, rolling away and Peter dived through the doorway. He emerged into the street again, laying there for a second.

The family had fled, and there was only Goblin and his friends left. Peter hauled himself up. Dorian flew into him and they both toppled to the ground in a tangle.

"Sorry," Dorian groaned.

"Smoke, how are you guys doing?"

"Not super great. Never thought I'd get so well acquainted with the taste of concrete..."

Peter nodded, looking up. Samantha was straddling the back of Goblin's neck, blinding him with her light shards. Jace and Jade were on the ground, taking a more hand to hand strategy.

It looked like a disorganized mess.

"Lets go," Peter leaped up.

They sprang into battle. Peter grabbed Goblin by the face and swung himself up onto his back. Goblin turned his ugly head and Samantha got a clear shot. A white explosion blasted into his eyes.

Goblin screamed.

"STOP THAT!"

Jace and Jade both aimed a kick to the back of his knees. He buckled slightly, before spinning around and dragging his arm across the ground. Jace pulled Jade out of the way just in time for them to both be hit by his other arm. They were thrown into the road, rolling on the asphalt.

Goblin wrapped his fat fingers around a stoplight, ripping it straight out of the ground! He swung it like a club at the heroes on the floor. Jace stopped time for a split second, enough for them to roll away, then resumed it. He panted.

"I need to concentrate! I can't do it while I'm fighting like this!" He yelled. The pole slammed into the spot where they had been seconds ago. Goblin blinked in confusion for a second, then swung again, this time at Samantha. She shrieked and tried to duck. Too late.

The metal bar struck her side, sending her flying. She didn't get back up.

"Black Fang! Help Shadow!" Peter screeched. Jade rushed over as Peter and Dorian tried to wrench away the pole from Goblin. The green beast only pulled it away from Peter's webs. Smoke started oozing from Dorian's hands, but he couldn't do much while Peter and the others were all so close.

Peter and Dorian punched. But it all seemed to make Goblin angrier.

They needed something bigger.

Stronger.

 _I wish Luke was here..._

There! Peter spied an overturned truck, wheels spinning. It's front bumper and sides were mangled and the shattered windows were gaping holes. Peter didn't want to think about what might've happened to the driver. He wrapped the vehicle in webbing, then jumped away from Goblin, pulling hard.

"Hey Goblin!" He sang.

Goblin turned just as the truck made contact. It hit him in the head with a smack and Goblin went down for the last time.

* * *

 **Okay first off, no, Goblin is not ooc. He's not Norman, so he can act differently. There are several very obvious clues as to who he is so I hope you guys guessed it!**

 **Also, just out of _curiosity_...who do you ship out of the OCs? And if you sent in an OC, would you mind me pairing them with someone? Just wondering...**

 **Wolf Out...**


	14. Losing Sight

**Hey guys! Remember when I said this story would get darker? Yeah. That starts now. Enjoy!**

 **Reviews:**

 **New Prussia: Yeah, I didn't really plan it that way, so it surprised me too! Glad things are getting better, and yeah, I personally ship Blacksmoke...or Jorian? Dade? Doriade! But of course it won't really be a main focus. Just little hints!**

 **True Beast 01: I've checked out a few of your stories before and my favorite one is Blood Curdling. Fantastic writing, especially since I usually don't like reading ship fics, or anything with the Avengers in it. So for actually being able to get me to love that story, great job!**

 **Guest: So I added a SpideyTiger for you, it's not much, but there will be more later on. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218: You are my best guesser. Just saying. Also, thanks for the compliment! I love writing about Sam's sister, and I was hoping someone would recognize her! I ship Doriade, though it'll just be little hints and not a main thing in the story. Now, for your USM discussion. I think the show has been taking over by marketing. On every single piece of merchandise, it's only Spidey and not the team. And now I think the producers are just running away with the whole "Spiders sell toys" thing because they keep adding more spiders!**

 **Danny probably only has a few months left, so he should be going to Kun'Lun soon. Sadly I think Luke would be staying quite close to SHIELD because of his parents, but I like your heroes for hire idea. Nova should join the Guardians like you said and I think Ava would probably just move back home and be the White Tiger there. But yeah, any time you want to rant, I'm here! I could talk about this all day!**

 **MckennaTennyson-Harper12: Yeah sorry I'm not accepting OCs anymore. You didn't waste any time and I quite liked London, but yeah, OC forms are closed. I'm glad you like the story though, thanks for reviewing!**

* * *

Peter watched in shock as Goblin began to shrink. His skin thinned and grew fleshier.

"What's happening?" Samantha came over, clutching her middle and panting. Jade helped her walk, also holding her own bruises.

"His mutation is destabilizing...he's turning human," Peter said. They all watched in silence. Goblin's claws were sucked back into his fingers. His fangs shriveled into teeth and his jaw compressed into a human mouth.

The horns on his chin moved closer to one another, wrapping around each other and merging into a real chin. His ears expanded, thinning and rounding, before twisting around and down to become human ears.

Peter gasped as Goblin's eyes turned green and glossy black hair swept over his scalp. His skin turned tan.

 _No..._

"Who's that?" Dorian asked, stepping closer to the boy on the ground.

Peter swallowed dryly.

"It's Sam."

Peter lurched forward, crouching down near the boy. Sam opened his eyes, slowly groaning. He focused on Peter and sighed.

"I hate you," Sam slurred, scowling.

"Sam," Peter repeated, "What happened?"

"I told you already!" Sam yelled. Then he broke into a sob. Peter rubbed his back awkwardly as he cried into the ground.

"I'm an idiot," Sam muttered angrily, "I'm such an idiot!"

"Hey, stop that," Peter consoled. His teammates had moved further back, allowing privacy. Peter positioned himself so as to shield Sam from them. "You're not an idiot."

Sam dropped his head into his hands.

"He told me I could do anything as long as I got rid of Osborn! And I attacked my own family!" Sam yelled, tears streaming down his face. "I'm a failure! I'm such a complete idiot!"

Peter blinked, then bit his lip.

"It wasn't you Sam, it was the Goblin serum..."

"NO IT WASN'T!" Sam screamed. "I wanted to kill him! I still want to kill him!"

Peter realized what he was talking about.

"Your dad?"

Sam nodded, sobbing and choking. Suddenly, he grabbed Peter's shoulders. He placed his face inches from Peter's, eyes wide and filled with grief.

"Is she okay? Did you see her? I didn't...I didn't k...Did I?!" Sam screeched, shaking Peter like a maniac. Peter pried him off.

"Who?"

"Kaelynn! She was in the house...I...I'm so sorry...My sister..." Sam blubbered, breaths coming out too-quickly. His chest rose and fell faster and faster, and his hands dug into the concrete, twisting and grabbing.

It broke Peter's heart. A memory of the girl he saved popped into his head. And the people upstairs that had to be Sam's parents.

"She's safe," Peter consoled. "I got her out."

Sam didn't answer, hyperventilating heavily. His arms trembled, and Peter waved a finger in front of his eyes.

"Sam?" Peter called, "Sam!"

Sam's lip quivered. He was still crying.

"Breathe!" Peter instructed. Sam inhaled deeply, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Kaelynn..."

"She is safe," Peter enunciated. Sam nodded, half coherent.

"Come on," Peter helped him stand up, and Sam almost fell over. He shakily climbed to his feet once more, jaw twitching.

"I could have killed her," Sam whispered to himself. Peter supported him and they edged out of the goblin-sized crater.

"One of your AU friends?" Dorian asked. Peter gave him an odd look.

"What?"

"AU...as in, alternate universe? Like in fanfictions?" Dorian elaborated.

"Yeah, I guess," Peter said.

He wrapped an arm around Sam, who still trembled.

"Let's get out of here," Peter said. His teammates gathered around and stared at Sam.

"Is he coming?" Jace asked.

Peter nodded. And Sam released a quiet sob.

* * *

When they got home Sam had gone silent. He stared at nothing and talked to no one. Peter placed him in his bed, feeling slightly like a mother.

"If you need anything, just yell," Peter said half-jokingly.

Sam managed a small smile, and Peter went back downstairs.

"How is he?" Jade asked.

"Not good," Peter sighed. He couldn't understand how his former team's lives were all so negatively different without all the horrible things that had happened in their old lives.

"I hate this," Peter huffed.

"He'll be fine," Samantha tried.

"That's not what I mean," Peter sighed, shaking his head. He began heading for the door.

"And where are you going?" Jace called.

"I don't know," Peter admitted, "Somewhere quiet."

"Was that an insult? I'm pretty sure it was an insult," Dorian said, crossing his arms. Jade rested her palm on his bicep, smiling softly.

"He just needs to think," She said. Peter closed the door behind him. It was evening now, and Peter relished the cool air blowing into his face. He knew he did this much too often...being alone.

But he couldn't help it. Peter had always tended to want to do things alone. And in this alien environment it was a defense mechanism.

"Hello Peter," A sensual voice purred in his ears.

 _Why am I not surprised?_

Peter barely turned around.

"You're supposed to be in SHIELD custody," Peter observed, dropping onto a roof. Black Tiger stood in front of him. She gazed at her claws.

"I'm taking a break."

"What do you want now, Ava?" Peter asked. Ava smiled.

"You saved my life _Spiderman_ ," She whispered.

"Of course I did."

"Most wouldn't have," She said. A buzzing sound broke the moment. Peter looked down at Ava's phone, lighting up from inside her side pockets.

She quickly grabbed it, holding it to her ear.

"Hello?" She hissed.

Peter stepped closer, curious. He could just barely hear the conversation.

"When are you coming back?" A small voice asked on the other end of the line. Peter blinked. It sounded like a child.

"Pronto," Ava said quietly, switching to Spanish.

"Mamá prisa," The child answered, "Tengo hambre!"

Ava said a few more words, then clicked off. She sheepishly turned back to Peter. He blinked, freezing. Everything seemed to be crashing down around him in a horrific realization.

 _I can't believe this...I can't believe this..._

"You have a son..." Peter stuttered, eyes bulging. His chest tightened and an awkward atmosphere descended.

"Yes Peter."

Peter didn't know what to say. Ava...beautiful, smart, sensible Ava...and she had a child! She was only eighteen, wasn't she? And the child had sounded to be at least four or five years old...

"How?" Peter choked.

A tear fell down Ava's face. She sat down, hugging herself. Peter slowly lowered himself next to her.

"Kraven killed my father to gain the amulet, and like I told you, it was too much for him. He was dying," Ava said softly. Peter nodded, fighting an urge to scoot closer.

"And then he trained you," He finished. Ava shook her head.

"Not exactly. I lied, before. He didn't believe a girl could wield the amulet properly...so he...so we... _continued his bloodline_ ," Ava grit her teeth. Understanding dawned on Peter. His insides churned. Anger rushed to his head.

"Ava..."

"I escaped eventually, with Alejandro, after he died. We've lived here ever since...together," She said, though it seemed like she was no longer talking to Peter. It seemed as if she was lost in another time, staring off over the buildings.

Peter cupped her face, turning her towards him.

"I don't blame you," He told her. She laughed bitterly.

"You are such an odd person. You make it sound like you know me."

"I used to," Peter whispered, then he was swimming in the depths of her eyes. He leaned in. Their lips brushed against each other for mere seconds.

Then Peter's communicator blared.

"Something's wrong with your little buddy!" Jace snarled on the other end. Ava shot him a questioning look.

 _WHY NOW!?_

"I...I need to go!" Peter said quickly. He pushed her away and leapt off the side of the building. He hated himself for the shocked look on her face. The hurt in her eyes. But this sounded like an emergency.

"What's wrong with Sam?" Peter yelled into his wrist.

"We don't know! He's reacting to the goblin-serum-thingy!" Samantha yelled.

 _NONONONONO!_

Peter rocketed back to the house, thankful he hadn't gone far. He burst into his room via window. The rest of the team was inside, surrounding Sam's bedside.

Sam was jerking around wildly, back arching and emitting loud animal growls. His eyes were shut tight, and a sticky red foam dribbled from the side of his lips. Peter rushed over. Dorian and Jace were holding Sam down.

"When did this happen!" Peter yelled.

"A few minutes ago! He won't stop!" Samantha screamed. Peter racked his brain, breathing heavily. What to do? What to do!?

"Okay move! I'm going to web him down!" Peter growled. Everyone stepped back and Peter bound Sam to the bed. His head still thrashed, and Peter moved closer. He grabbed his face in his hands.

"Sam! SAM!" Peter yelled fiercely.

 _Come on! Come on!_

He felt Sam's sweat through his gloves. Pain stabbed at Peter's heart. It killed him to watch his friend like this. But he was the leader. He could not show fear.

"SAM SNAP OUT OF IT!" Peter commanded, still holding onto Sam's face. The boy stopped convulsing slightly.

"YES! Come on Sam! Breathe! Sam!" Peter kept yelling, words running together in one mess of encouragement and terror.

Sam gasped for air, eyes snapping open. He sucked in lungfuls of oxygen, coughing and gagging. Peter tapped his back, waiting for his heart to slow down.

"It hurts," Sam moaned. Peter noticed he was clawing at his shirt, a new one that Peter had given him after the goblin ordeal.

Sam ripped it open, groaning. Greenish veins bubbled and pulsed on his chest, spreading out to cover his torso.

 _Looks like the serum wasn't quite perfected..._

"No..." Peter croaked. Sam squirmed, gritting his teeth against the pain.

"Jace there should be medicines in the bathroom," Peter hissed. Jace left silently, a calm fury on his face.

"He's going to be fine. Right? He has to be fine..." Dorian muttered. Soft black tendrils escaped from his balled fists.

Jade walked over and placed a hand on Sam's chest, recoiling quickly.

"This needs to end," She whispered. Peter ignored her, snatching away the medicines and bandages from Jace. He quickly tore off Sam's shirt and wrapped his chest. A thick yellow liquid oozed through the gauze.

"Peter it hurts," Sam rasped, clutching onto Peter's arm with a death-grip.

"I know bucket head," Peter murmured, "Just hang on."

"Why do you keep calling me that?" Sam arched his back, toes and fingers curling.

Peter stared at one of his very best friends. Sam whimpered, slobber and froth dripping down his chin. His eyes were wild, bloodshot and dilated.

Peter grabbed a sleep medicine, along with some pain killers. He forced a few pills down Sam's throat.

"I'm sorry Sam," Peter said, watching as the other teen calmed down. Sam's breathing slowed slightly. Peter waited until he was asleep, then pushed his way out of the room. His team followed him downstairs. Peter sat down heavily on the ground, lowering his head into his hands.

"So, you just gonna keep drugging him up every time he wakes up?" Jace asked, more than a hint of venom in his tone.

Peter exhaled loudly, setting his jaw.

"I'll come up with something."

"What if you don't?"

"I'm thinking!" Peter growled.

"Yeah, you're thinking real hard about stopping your talking wishing well."

Peter flashed to his feet, hands tearing away his mask.

"What are you trying to say?" He yelled. Dorian stepped behind Jace, staring squarely at Peter.

"We've all talked about it Peter," Dorian said. Jade and Samantha nodded. Peter looked from person to person. He felt trapped suddenly, constricted.

"What?"

"All you've been thinking about for the past days is Wish Master. You don't care anymore about stopping the other evils. Danny and Black Tiger and even the simple robbers," Jade explained.

Peter scowled, turning away.

"What makes you guys care? Huh? When I first talked about catching Tiger, you all said one thing. You'd signed up to find Wish Master. That's it."

"We _did,_ " Jace spat, "But you didn't."

"So what!?" Peter screeched, "So what?! This is a team! But until you guys start acting like it, we won't make any progress!"

Jace's face darkened.

"But we're not your team, are we? We're the backup! You go off on your little emo trips to be alone and then you call us in to save your sorry as—"

"SHUT UP!" Peter cried. He couldn't handle the truth in their words. They were right. He was a monster. How had he allowed himself to lose touch with everything else...

"Peter we signed up to help you because we wanted to be heroes. Because we wanted a chance to show someone that we could do better, have better," Samantha said quietly, "And you showed us how. But now your friend is up there dying and you don't even look like you care..."

"Of course I care," Peter snarled, bashing a fist against the wall.

"We can't just focus on one thing anymore. There are other things in the world worth fighting for," Jade added. Peter sat down again, trying to hold himself together. But it felt like pieces of him were being washed away by a great current, and he could do nothing.

"I just want to go home..." He whispered.

"Yeah, so did everyone who got injured today," Jace muttered coldly, "All the people in the hospital right now just want to home too."

Peter drowned in his words. He was right. A sudden heaviness swept over him. A cold, precise feeling that slithered up his spine. Jace continued his rant, redness outlining his eyes.

"I watched someone die today," His tone was so casual, he could've been talking about anything. "An old man was trying to run with his wife. I tried to get them out and the man had a heart attack. Right there in front of me. Just gave out."

Silence crushed Peter, but he fought it off. He hated his teammates. In those moments he hated them.

"Maybe we can't save everyone," Peter hissed. Shock flooded the room and Peter immediately regretted his words.

"You're right," Jade said, "We can't. But that shouldn't stop us from trying."

They heard a muffled sob from upstairs and Peter broke down.

"I know," He whispered. Then he buried himself in his own arms and cried.

* * *

 **Yep! Things just got very real, very quickly! Tell me what you think about Sam/Goblin and Ava's kid! Also get ready because this is where the story gets much deeper and darker! Oh, and I think we're about half-way through it, unless I decide to add more chapters than I already have planned.**

 **Wolf Out...**


	15. House of Misery

**So...um...remember when I said we were halfway through? Yeah. Turns out there's actually only one chapter left (two at the most). Whoops!**

 **Just going to warn you guys that this chapter gets pretty intense around the middle. Enjoy!**

 **Reviews:**

 **New Prussia: Yeah it's a bit more explained in this chapter. Yeah, Pete's being driven to his limits! Enjoy the chapter!**

 **The Story's Shadow: Nice new name. And yeah, you're right. Though her son didn't end up having as much of a role as I originally planned. And yeah I know this is basically a ship fic, but I was just trying something new. And I guess I mostly meant that I'm not into Oc/cannon pairings because the Ocs usually turn out very Mary Sue-ish. I don't mind cannon ship fics, but only if I ship the pairing. This one was really just an experiment to challenge myself and try something else. In all honesty I don't really like Ava that much in the show, but I figured that if I made her the exact opposite of her personality (Black Tiger) I would like her better. And I do! So I don't really ship spideytiger myself. I haven't really found a usm ship actually that I like. I am starting to get more into romances though. Sorry for the long reply! Thanks for reviewing! (Feel free to argue with me, I'd love to discuss this more ;))**

 **Guest: Sorry if its a bit dark, but this chapter is worse! Yeah, Ava doesn't have a child in cannon, as far as I'm aware. Thanks for reviewing and I'm glad you're still reading! Hang in there. There's probably a silver lining in here somewhere...**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218: Yay! Glad you caught that! Don't know if Peter will notice or not, but maybe at the end. Yes this story is getting dark, especially this chapter. Sorry for any confusion. I tried to explain it a bit better in this chapter. But so you know, Danny mutated Sam to go and kill Norman. Sam went a bit out of control and tried to kill his dad instead. Yes, Ava has a son! No, he doesn't really speak Russian. Ava tried to keep him away from Kraven as much as she could, so he only speaks English and Spanish. Peter's always tried to handle things alone, and well, I'll let you read the chapter! I did say it in chapter nine who the pink guy was, but I understand it was a bit vague. The pink guy was Danny's father.**

 **Princesadelinvierno: Thank you! Glad you liked it! Thanks for reviewing and enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Peter shivered in his chair, watching Sam sleep. The smaller boy tossed and turned, ripping at the covers. Everyone else was downstairs, also asleep. Peter thought back to the argument they'd all had.

He's stormed upstairs after it, and no one had stopped him. He almost wished someone would have come up. But they'd all stayed together and left Peter alone. Always alone. Again, he looked at Sam. He was muttering something.

"Field trip...Don't wanna go..." Sam mumbled.

Peter sighed. He'd been mentioning this field trip for over an hour. And from what Peter had put together he guessed Sam had gone to Rand Co. with his class, and then Danny must have roped him into being a subject for the goblin serum. All to go and kill Norman. Eliminate competition.

His thoughts drifted to Ava...

A child.

She had a child.

So many questions swirled through Peter's mind. But he had no one to ask them to.

Something like jealousy gnawed at him and he pushed the feeling away in embarrassment. Peter dropped his head into his hands. It felt as if a weight were pressing down on his back. Pain and exhaustion churned in his stomach and soon Peter felt his eyes drooping.

He wondered if he should fight his fatigue.

 _No. Why bother? Sleep is the one thing I can't screw up anyway..._

Peter's eyes closed and his shoulders slouched. Sleep entered his mind and blackness covered everything.

* * *

Screams pierced the air. Peter jolted awake, blinking in confusion. He tried to move and a sharp pain exploded up his leg. He glanced down at himself, disorientated. He was no longer in his chair, but on the floor. He gasped. His left leg was completely mangled.

Dark bruises peppered the skin and the bones stuck out at odd angles. Peter's eyes widened. Pain rippled up his spine and panic gripped him.

 _What happened?!_

More screams penetrated the night. Peter gritted his teeth, realizing that Sam was no longer in the bed. An unhuman roar came from downstairs and Peter instinctively turned. More pain. His vision blackened for a second and when he came to the screams still persisted.

Sam must have gone wild again.

Peter checked his web shooters, thankful he had forgotten to take them off. Carefully angling his body towards the open door, he shot a web down the hallway and began dragging himself out. He screamed, trying to ignore the fire in his veins.

He blacked out again for a split second, then continued moving. Dizziness slammed into him, but Peter kept going. He made it into the hallway and grabbed the banister. After a few tries he was able to haul himself into a standing position. He peered down the stairs.

 _No..._

Sam was standing with his back to the stairs. His hair had mostly fallen out and his skin was a horrific mess of tan and green. He was larger now too, but nothing was proportionate.

His hands were twice the size of his head, with long black claws. And one of his legs had ballooned out into a puffy green ball. He swayed, swinging his arms around with a pained grunt.

"Heptk! Hebk!" He roared.

Peter gasped unintentionally and Sam whirled around. His face looked like the old Sam. Only with gigantic fangs that protruded down his chin and eyes that had no pupils.

He lurched towards Peter, snarling and groaning.

"S-Sam," Peter whimpered. Fear formed in his stomach, pushing up into his lungs and chest. He swallowed, heart breaking.

"It's me, Pete," He said. Sam took another step, nodding his swollen head.

"HEK! HEPK REE!"

"What are you trying to say buddy?" Peter asked, voice cracking. Sam's eyes narrowed in fury. He swung a paw around and batted Peter down the stairs. He shrieked, feeling the pain intensify like nothing he'd ever felt before. He coughed on blood, feeling the bile creeping up his throat.

Peter curled up at the bottom of the stairs, now below Sam. He looked around frantically and froze.

His friends.

They were each in tiny, unmoving heaps on the floor. Blood stained the carpet and walls. A few of them stared blankly ahead, necks bent at awkward angles.

Peter felt his heart stop. Sam staggered down the stairs.

"HEEEPPPT REEE!"

"Please," Peter whispered hoarsely, vision tunneling, "I don't understand..."

Sam shrieked, leaping down to land in front of Peter's face. He picked Peter up and slammed him into a wall. Peter's vision shook wildly. And he felt something knock loose in his head.

He wondered madly if this was what he wanted. Giving up would be so easy.

 _I could die right now and never have to worry about anything ever again...NO! Snap out of it! What am I saying?! But...It would be so simple..._

Sam screeched, plunging a claw into Peter's abdomen. Peter's head lolled. Sounds blurred together in a dizzying buzz. The though struck him that his friends had to be dead and so it wasn't as if anyone would ever miss him.

He raised his head painfully, blinking through swelling eyes.

Sam panted, shaking and staring. Peter gritted his teeth, locking eyes with his opponent.

"Do it," Peter spat. Sam's eyes widened in shock. Before the beast inside him took over and he roared. He shoved Peter into the wall for one final time. Peter felt himself burst into pain.

His thoughts muddied and dribbled out of his brain. He floated in an inferno. And in that moment it occurred to him what Sam had been trying to say.

 _Help me..._

Regret suddenly slammed into Peter and his foolishness became brutally evident. He had failed one of his best friends. Again. And now he was running away.

 _Coward. Idiot. Selfish monster. Taking the easy way out like a rat._

"I'm sorry," he mumbled drunkenly. He wasn't even sure if the words made it out of his mouth. But the one things he was sure of was that the darkness was obscuring the pain.

Peter floated even higher. Numbness entered his body and he felt light. A white pinpoint of light blinked in the darkness. Peter wandered towards it. He cried, knowing he would never see his friends again. Old or new.

Nor would he ever take another breath.

He was almost there. He just needed to step into the light. So close.

The light winked out just as he reached it.

 _What?_

Peter fell. He plummeted down through the void, screaming. This wasn't supposed to happen! Was it?

He looked around as he rocketed downwards. His eyes widened and a stone formed in his stomach. No, this definitely wasn't normal.

A purple fabric was spread below him like a blanket. Peter cursed loudly as he fell into its folds.

"Madness is the only bird whose wings death cannot break!" Wish Master squealed from nowhere. Peter dropped his head into his hands, shaking uncontrollably.

"What. Do. You. Want. From. Me."

"Let's paint a picture in the sky with shame and fear and times to die. The puppets used are worn and gone and no one's left to run the show!"

Peter fumed, tears streaming down his face. He gasped as his surroundings changed. He was in the city again, and a goblin was bouncing up to a building. He saw himself running into the building.

 _This is the fight we first had with Sam. Why is he showing me this?_

Peter noticed two people running away from the mess. An old man and his wife. Jace was yelling at them to get out, trying to help them run. Jade was across the street, carrying two children. Samantha and Dorian were distracting Sam, powers combining perfectly. Peter noticed something about the old couple.

He knew these people.

Bile crept up to his throat as Jace's voice struck his temple.

 _"I watched someone die today..."_

"Nononono..." Peter moaned, watching the scene unfold.

 _"I tried to get them out and the man had a heart attack. Right there in front of me. Just gave out."_

"Please no. Not again!" Peter cried.

He stared as Uncle Ben keeled over. Aunt May shrieked, diving down beside him. He clutched at his chest, coughing and sputtering. Aunt May wailed, fanning him and patting his face. Peter watched his uncle die for the second time in his life.

He felt his insides quiver and break down.

The scene finished. Darkness fell again.

"Some things are just cemented in all universes present. Some things never change no matter what the situation!" Wish Master said. Peter couldn't answer. He shook. That had been it. He knew it. That had been the final straw.

And now all his hope melted. All his determination and "hero's complex". Gone.

He wanted to die.

But he already had.

So what was left?

"Old and new, this game I play, where fate's in charge of who to slay. Today you get to have a say. So time to choose. Who dies and pays?"

Again the surroundings shifted. Peter looked around through dull eyes that saw nothing but memories. Two sides of the void lit up with invisible spotlights.

Two rows of four people hung on each side.

Luke. Danny. Ava. Sam.

Dorian. Jade. Samantha. Jace.

All of them began to wake up, yelping and looking around.

"What are you doing?" He muttered huskily.

In front him appeared the Wish Master, cloaked in purple as always. His marble eyes shone through his hood.

"Live with the old or live with the new. Go back to your life and watch new friends die? Or stay and rewind, but watch old friends die?"

Peter blinked. His voice came out small and pathetic.

"You want me to choose?"

Wish Master nodded.

"Pete! What's going on?" Luke yelled. Peter stared at him wearily. Was this _his_ Luke, or a trick?

"Who are they?" Ava yelled, eyeing the other team.

"We're the ones who tossed you in jail!" Dorian retorted, "Black Tiger!"

"Black Tiger?" Ava asked her teammates, "What are they talking about? I'm the White Tiger..."

"Perhaps these others are confused. We extend our greetings to you, friends," Danny spoke calmly.

"Yeah right! You're psychotic! Trying to murder us every other day!" Jace growled.

Everyone on Peter's old team stared at Danny, then back at Jace.

"Okay Webhead, somebody better start explaining!" Sam called.

Peter ripped at his hair. He couldn't stand hearing the sounds of his old team, knowing he needed to choose.

And after everything he'd gone through...he couldn't look at them the same way. He looked up.

"Ava?" Peter whispered.

"Yes?"

"If you had a child...what would you name it?"

Ava blinked, startled. She tried to move but she was stuck, dangling from nothing.

"Alejandro."

Peter nodded.

"I thought so."

He drew his knees up to his chest.

"Wish Master!" Peter screamed. The demon appeared again.

"Decisions are needed for anyone leaving but maybe there's one other choice for you Peter!"

"What choice!?" Peter snarled, standing up. He was unsteady on his feet, swaying back and forth madly. He staggered forwards, eyes bulging. He felt any ties to his previous self drift away.

He swore the Wish Master smiled.

"Come inside the house of misery."

Peter froze. Wish Master's voice had changed, lowering several octaves. And for once he hadn't spoken in his odd lingo. His robes swirled around him, parting to reveal a gaping black hole. Peter stared at each set of his friends.

They shouted at him, begging him to choose, not choose, stay, leave, die.

Wordlessly, he got up and walked towards Wish Master. Peter didn't look back as he was sucked into the folds of the robe.

"I've waited for a long time Peter," Wish Master smiled. The robes slammed closed behind Peter and he found himself in another section of the seemingly endless "void."

"I give up," Peter whispered, hanging his head.

Wish Master's voice lowered again.

"Perfect. Then, if it's all the same to you," He snickered, "It's time to merge."

* * *

 **Wow! That was an emotional rollercoaster to write! Hope you guys liked it! OH! *Special announcement to anyone who watches Danisnotonfire and AmazingPhil*: please check out my new (much much much much better) channel called 'WolfzieDraws' to see some animations I did of their videos. And if you don't watch those youtubers already then I recommend them. Very strongly. Seriously. Go watch them.**

 **Wolf Out...**


	16. Without Him

**Sorry for the long wait guys! I had lots of exams and lots of writer's block! Almost to the end! Hope you guys enjoy!**

 **Reviews:**

 **New Prussia: Yeah, suffering is definitely my favorite thing to write. Peter is an idiot, but he also didn't have man options. Or at least, he didn't feel like he had any options. Glad you liked it!**

 **The Story's Shadow: They have connected very well, and I do see the opposites attract thing. But yeah, differing opinions. Enjoy the chapter!**

 **Death Fury: Thanks! ;)**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218: Yeah, sorry if that was a bit unclear. Danny is super evil! Yep two chapters, or maybe three, I haven't decided yet. It's one of those though. Can't promise any happy or unhappy endings! Also, yeah, after I saw your review that line reminded me of venom too! Hadn't even thought of that while writing!**

* * *

Peter sat down on the floor that seemed like nothingness. The pain in his heart was giving way to a cold, unfeeling grip. Wish Master's voice, still deep and unified, spoke around him.

"I must admit Peter, it took you longer to snap than the others..."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Peter spat, staring straight ahead with steel in his eyes.

"No no, of course not. That would be counterproductive. The merging would be so much more...tedious...if that happened."

"Why do you do this?" Peter muttered, "Why?"

"Hmm...perhaps to show you how insignificant it all is."

"Is that why you drowned yourself?" Peter demanded, voice rising slightly. He kept his gaze, unflinching. The Wish Master appeared in front of him. Peter blinked, surprised.

How was he able to see him, if he was inside his robes?

 _Just another mind game. All of it was a mind game..._

"You still don't understand," The demon cackled, "Maybe that's why you were so difficult to break...you're just an idiot."

"Understand what?"

"I am not one of you. I am nothing, with the potential to be everything. And all it takes is a little misery."

"What are you talking about?" Peter growled. Wish Master flickered, as if he was just a projection.

"Why don't you find out?" He sang. A burst of air slammed into Peter's chest, wrapping around him. Purplish black vines were forming around his ankles, coiling tightly. More vines shot from his own wrists, slithering around his hands and fingers.

Peter screamed and felt something slimy crawl out of his throat. Another vine. It wrapped itself around his head, covering his mouth and nose and ears until all that was left was his eyes.

And then even those were obscured. His vision switched off for a second, then turned on with a distorted red light. Images flashed past him in rapid succession, accompanied by Wish Master's voice.

He saw a woman in a fancy red dress crying in a bathroom. Her makeup dripped down her face and onto the diamond necklace draped around her neck. A man who must have been her husband entered the room, screaming and waving his fists. He grabbed her and drew back his hand.

 _NO!_

The image changed to a little girl bullying some kids. They ran away and she sat down, tears pooling around her cheeks.

Now the pictures were getting faster. A boy with a sick mother. A teenage girl screaming at nothing. An alcoholic couple. And finally the man from the newspaper clip. He floated in the water, drowning.

"These people were miserable beings. Disgusting examples of humans. I gave them a chance to make things better and each one accepted. Including you, Peter," Wish Master said.

Peter tried to speak, tried to move. But he was just an observer now, unable to intervene.

"Once you all let me into your worlds, you became my puppets. Tell me Peter..." Wish Master went on, "How do you think you managed to find four, super powered kids willing to help you in all of Manhattan? And all in one day?"

Peter felt his heart stop. Wish Master was right. And those odd feelings that he'd had...it was all planned out. Everything he thought he'd accomplished...

"You see Peter, I had to provide you with something you'd want to love, protect, trust. So that I would have something to rip away from you."

A final image appeared before Peter. It was a small plant growing alone in a field. Purple and red petals decorated the head, while sharp nettles traveled down the bluish stem.

"That was me. Centuries ago, and in another world. The last of my kind," Wish Master's voice jumped up an octave, "We needed misery to grow. We needed an organism, sentient, to consume. And my last host has just expired, Peter."

Peter felt himself floating, lifting up and off the ground. The void was melting into a sunny day.

He was flying over Manhattan. Only, it was different. Nothing was familiar. Peter panicked, though he could do nothing. He was the Wish Master's host now, which meant he was just a passenger. An onlooker.

He was frozen in his own body.

"This is your home Peter," Wish Master said, though it sounded more like it was in Peter's head. "This is your home, sixty years after your death."

Peter's heart jumped into his throat.

 _WHAT!? Wait! Which timeline am I in?_

"Oh this?" Wish Master said nonchalantly. "This is your original timeline. On your first encounter with me Peter, you allowed me into your world and I placed you into a different time stream. But what your friends saw, was you going insane. You went utterly mad, talking to yourself and pretending to be talking to your dear old Uncle Ben."

Peter tried to clench his teeth. He couldn't. But he knew the Wish Master could feel his anger.

"And then, you killed yourself. Smashed your head against a wall. But of course, that's what happened here. Because your mind was in another timeline, and _there,_ you were killed by Goblin."

Peter couldn't understand. It had all been in his mind? Wish Master sighed.

"No. It was very real, I can assure you of that. The only thing that wasn't quite real, was your own body. It was more of a replica, so you could move around in that timeline, while your real body was here."

Peter stared down at the city that had left him behind. He could see it now. Everything was older. Criminals were roaming around, unafraid. They killed and hurt and stole. All of it unfolded before Peter's eyes, like a time lapse movie.

"You'll find that our new partnership will... _distort_ , the way you perceive time."

 _This isn't a partnership!_

"No, you're right. You are my slave."

They kept flying, swooping and turning. There was no particular direction.

 _Where are we going?_

"Hmm...I guess nowhere. I've replenished my host. Which means I have the next few hundred years free."

Peter's heart sank. It seemed anticlimactic. All of this struggle. All of this careful planning and overseeing, on both parts, and all to spend the next few centuries wandering around. Stupid. All of it was stupid.

He kept watching the new Manhattan. Or rather, he supposed, the old Manhattan.

"You know Peter, this really is your own fault," Wish Master reflected. "I gave you plenty of hints. So many clues and bits of advice. I do like to play fair, after all. Yet you never caught on. Almost offending, really."

 _Thanks. But I thought once you were in my world, I was just a puppet._

"You were, but you still could have escaped. Now of course, you can't."

Peter muddled over this new information. He had tried to decipher the clues, solve the puzzle. But he couldn't do it. A new question surfaced.

 _What about my friends? The ones here?_

"Oh. Yes, that could be fun. Let's go see!"

Suddenly they were in a small house. The wooden floors were worn and tired, but perfectly clean. An old man sat on a sofa with his wife. The man was large, muscular even in his advanced age.

 _Who is this?_

"Don't you recognize him?" Wish Master sniggered, "it's Luke, with his wife, Jessica."

"Happy birthday Jess," Luke grinned at the woman next to him, pulling out a small teddy bear holding a plush heart.

"Aw, Lukey!" Jessica laughed, "I can't remember the last time you actually gave me a gift on time!"

"See I told you! I said I would remember it this year, and I did!" Luke said, kissing her gently. "And look on the back of the bear, I got them to stitch your name into it."

"You did not," Jessica squealed, quickly flipping the bear over. She gazed at it for a full second, then laughed again. And laughed. And kept laughing until Luke had to ask what was so funny.

"Baby," she gasped between laughs, "who's Jasonca!"

Luke snatched the bear back, staring at the stitched name. He groaned.

"They spelled it wrong?!"

Peter watched the scene unfold, feeling an odd envy. He would never get to grow old. He would never have a wife. Never buy a car, or a house. Never have a child.

"Sweet, isn't it?" Wish Master chuckled, "let's move on."

The room changed. They were now in another house, much larger. An old man was tucking in a little girl.

"Tell me about my name again Grandpa!" She squealed. The man grinned a grin that Peter would recognize anywhere.

 _Sam!_

"Again? I've told you a million times already!"

"Pleeeease!"

"Fine. But you'll have to help me, okay?" Sam said. The little girl nodded enthusiastically. Sam took a breath, and began.

"A long time ago, before Grandma and I ever even met, there was a little girl name Kaelynn. She was my little sister, but she was also a great princess!"

"And she fought bad guys!" The girl added.

"Yeah. She fought every bad guy and always won." Sam smiled warmly. There was a hint of sadness in his eyes and Peter knew instantly that Kaelynn was long gone.

"And she was never scared of anything," Sam continued, "Because she knew that she was strong."

"But she was scared sometimes, right?" His granddaughter asked, "Because mommy said that sometimes it's good to be scared."

Sam nodded.

"You're right. She was never scared, unless she had to be. And then one day, she disappeared."

"But she wasn't really gone Grandpa! She went to space, to fight monsters and aliens and she was a space queen!" The girl finished.

"Exactly," Sam's voice broke slightly, but he recovered, "Which is why we named you Kaelynn. Because you're brave, and you're strong, and you're the best princess in the world."

Kaelynn giggled, burying herself under the covers.

"Good night Grandpa!"

"Good night."

 _Wow..._

Peter felt tears in his eyes. A warmth was spreading through his body, but so was that same jealousy.

"Yes, shall we go?" Wish Master asked. He didn't wait for an answer, and Peter felt himself floating up and out. The weather was instantly much colder, and snow blew down in all directions.

He found himself in a beautifully ornate room, where two men were training.

 _Whoa, Danny barely aged..._

"That seems to be the case with most immortals," Wish Master snorted.

Danny looked older, but less so than the others. He was training with a young man with the same blonde hair and bright green eyes.

"Kick higher son," Danny instructed, lunging forward.

"Ya!" The boy cried, dodging and blocking.

"I can see you getting frustrated, clear your mind."

"I'm...trying..." the boy panted.

"Here," Danny stopped fighting, sitting down on the floor. "Sit."

His son lowered himself next to him, smiling at him with adoration.

"Dragon's wings," Danny chanted, the boy joining in.

"Mountain's knowledge...Sun's gold...Moon's love...Blossoms' beauty...Come together...Within us."

They repeated it, both with expressions of complete content.

"Well Peter," Wish Master sighed, "there's only one left."

Peter's heart raced. One left.

 _Ava..._

Kun'Lun faded away. They were now on a porch, humidity and heat ruling the weather.

Ava sat in a rocking chair, holding an old photograph. Her hair was mostly gray and wrinkles on her face couldn't hide her beauty. Peter felt himself moving behind her, looking at the picture.

 _Is that..._

It was him. Him in his regular clothes, smiling. A man walked out. He was tan, with slicked brown hair. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Amor," he said, "was it today?"

"No," Ava shook her head. "In a few weeks is the anniversary. I still wish I knew why he did it."

"The way you talk, after all these years, Peter Parker must have been great."

"He was," Ava agreed, putting the picture away. She wiped her eyes and smiled, leaning back to kiss the man.

"But you're the one I love," she murmured, closing her eyes. He kissed her back.

"I love you too."

Peter felt as if he'd been punched in the stomach. He stared at the two, hurt and astonished.

 _But...but how...No...Why..._

Wish Master cackled in his ear, "I love a good love story, don't you Peter?"

 _How is this possible?_

"Well without you to steal her kitty heart, Miss Ayala found someone else. Or should I say, _Mrs._ Ayala."

 _No that's not what I meant...I...How is it that they're all so happy without..._

"Without you? Interesting that you say that Peter. It does seem that in all timelines, everyone around you has been, for lack of better term, miserable. But if you are removed from the equation..."

 _They become happy._

Peter's heart broke as he saw the truth in those words.

 _Everyone is better off...without me._

* * *

 **You know, I was rereading a few of my very first stories I posted on here and I was shocked at how disgustingly bad they are! I was cringing the whole way through. Then I reread Traitor, and it's kind of horrible too. So I'm hoping that when I look back on this story, it won't seem that bad! I'm quite proud of this one so, yeah. Hopefully future Me will like it!**

 **Wolf Out...**


	17. Things Unsaid

**Hello friends! I just want to warn you that this chapter is very sad. I wanted this to be the last one actually, but it got too long and I had to split it. So I guess next chapter will be the end.**

 **Reviews:**

 **New Prussia: Haha, true. Those things don't really go together! Thanks for reviewing!**

 **The Story's Shadow: Yeah, that messed him up. I love exploring the hopeless side of Peter! Glad you liked it!**

 **Death Fury: Hmm, maybe. You'll find out in this chapter!**

 **Man285: No promises yet, but there's a good chance it'll happen!**

 **Guest: Yeah, it is quite sad. Thanks for reviewing, enjoy!**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218: Glad you liked the origin! I didn't want to give him one of those generic, really sad bad-guy backgrounds! I loved writing that line, so I'm glad you liked it. Also yeah, love can be just as painful as it is beautiful and I love exploring that. Thanks for the boost in confidence. They say that a writer's greatest critique is themselves, and that's definitely true. I'm happy you liked my stories, I always try to make each one better than the last. Thanks for reviewing! Only one more chapter left!**

* * *

The years passed by in a blur. Peter didn't care anymore. The pain of his actions still weighed down on him. But he endured it with the knowledge that the world did not need Spiderman.

It never had.

Wish Master piloted him throughout the generations. He saw cities fall, and new ones form. He watched erosion topple mountains and flood rivers. And eventually, he watched each of his friends die.

Peter's heart tugged. He remembered Ava's death in particular depth. He had stood there, at her bedside, invisible. And he had finally told her.

He had confessed those three words.

I love you.

I love you.

But she could not hear and she could not see and the Wish Master would not let him materialize.

"We do not interfere, unless a new host is needed," the demon had said. So Peter had stared at her old face, eyes clouded. He stood, frozen, unable to do anything.

And she died before him, with a smile on her lips.

Now he flew through a bright night. He could feel his body aging, but much more slowly than it should have been. Peter didn't mind. He almost enjoyed it all. Not having to make any choices. Not having to do anything at all because the Wish Master controlled him.

Liberating. Ironic, but liberating.

And for the first time in years, Peter felt at peace.

 _This isn't bad, you know._

"Quiet Peter," Wish Master huffed, "You are proving to be difficult."

 _I miss her though. All of them._

"Good."

 _Can we go see her grave?_

"No."

Peter sighed inwardly. Fine. Maybe another time. In the meantime he could look down on the world. It was odd. Living past everything. This was no longer his earth. And yet, it was.

He marveled at it all. And felt the warmth of Wish Master's cloak. Bombs fell through the sky. The fourth World War.

Peter watched them drop and watched millions die, all in the space of a second. He knew it would have bothered him, back when he was free. But after witnessing so many rebirths of civilization he understood that this was just another reset. The world would recover, start again.

Then die.

There was always inescapable death.

"Look at them Peter, writhing in agony. The few that don't die will never be the same. Mutated, perhaps. Or simply traumatized. How does that feel?"

 _It's sad, I guess. But it's happened too many times now._

"Doesn't it make you angry with yourself. You are helpless. You couldn't save them because of me. Does this not pain you? Make you hate me?"

 _No. That's the point. I'm helpless, so why should I be upset with something out of my control? That's the beauty of being with you. You are the best thing that's ever happened to me._

"Peter are you so much of an idiot to think that I like you?"

 _Well, maybe we could be friends. Symbiotically._

Wish Master screeched, back arching in sudden pain. Peter's breath hitched. He felt the Wish Master's torture.

 _What's happening?! Are you okay!_

"Stop that! Stop that now!" Wish Master screamed, flying frantically through the air. They careened into the roof of a crumbled building, sending debris everywhere.

 _Wish Master!?_

"You. Are. Supposed. To. Be. MISERABLE!"

Finally it clicked. Peter understood. He was content. Perfectly content. And that wasn't allowed.

 _I can't!_

"I have isolated you! I made you watch your friends and family die! I showed you the disgusting cycle of human destruction! I showed you pain and fear and chaos and you are happy!?"

 _Please, it's not my fault!_

"What is wrong with you? All the others...they were tortured until the end! Why are you different!"

 _I don't know!_

"Why are you different!"

 _I DON'T KNOW!_

Finally the Wish Master froze. He stopped convulsing, and Peter felt relief.

"Then you, Peter, are not a good host after all."

 _What?!_

Suddenly they were flying again. Faster than anything Peter had ever experienced. They zoomed through the decades, faster and faster. Until they found a girl.

"Her name is Miranda Thames. She is miserable. She is pathetic. She will do nicely."

Peter's heart broke. He needed the Wish Master. He needed the dependency!

 _What's going to happen to me?_

"You will finally die!"

Peter considered. Yes. Death was perfect. No choices. No one to hurt. It'd be just like this. He could've laughed. Perfect. Yes, death was perfect.

"You are a disturbing human being, Peter. Death should scare you."

Death was perfect. Death was perfect. Peter's sprits lifted. YES!

 _Let me die!_

Wish Master shuddered, and his body weakened.

"Stop that now!" He growled.

 _Let me die or let me be your host. I can make misery. I promise I can!_

"You disgust me. At least the others maintained some sense of will. Of humanity. You are just scum. And for the trouble, maybe I'll punish you instead..."

 _What? Wait, you can't!_

A bright flash of light invaded Peter's limited senses. He screamed inwardly at the cold that impaled him.

And when his vision returned to normal, he found himself sprawled, limp, on the concrete.

"This is the moment where you made your wish, Peter," A voice called from inside his head.

"I had to silence you for the duration of obtaining Miranda as my new host. You could have been useful Peter. But I suppose you really can do no good. You are useless and trust me when I tell you that with your placement in this timeline, your friends will suffer."

 _No...please...please come back...I can't face them..._

"Good bye Peter. You are truly the worst example of the human kind, that I have ever seen."

And with that, Peter felt the last few strings of Wish Master's power leak from his system. He felt his body rejuvenating, no longer the old man he had become.

He was back. He was back and had no one to guide him. He felt tears fall from his eyes, but couldn't move. It was like he had forgotten how to use his own limbs, which really, he had.

"Spiderman!" A voice that he hadn't heard in centuries struck him. Nova was pulling him up, looking him over.

"That creepy Wish thing is gone man, totally had all of us on a trip. Are, are you okay?"

Peter couldn't speak. He wanted to, but his jaw was rusty and his voice had not been used for an eternity.

"Whoa, Webs? Hey buddy, talk to me!" Nova yelled.

"Is he alright?" Iron Fist and Powerman walked up behind him, peering into Peter's face.

"He might still be under whatever spell that thing put on us," Powerman suggested.

Peter felt himself having a breakdown. His friends. They were here. And it was as if nothing had happened. But Peter knew nothing could ever be the same again. More tears spilled from his eyes, and he didn't have the power to wipe them away.

"Out of the way Bucket-Head," Tiger pushed Nova aside, pulling up Peter's mask.

 _No. No. Please don't see me crying. Ava don't..._

Ava gasped.

"Peter?" She whispered, "What's wrong?"

"I'll call Fury," Nova murmured, talking into his wrist.

"Spiderman, it is alright. Wish Master is gone," Iron Fist said.

"I wonder what he saw?" Powerman muttered under his breath, but Peter heard him anyway. He cried harder, feeling his shoulders shake uncontrollably.

 _Come back. Please come back. I can't face them without you!_

He tried to move his eyes, to blink. He couldn't. He was paralyzed, yet able to feel each uncontrollable movement perfectly. He could sense his teammates' discomfort. A leader didn't cry. A leader didn't break.

But Peter hadn't been the leader of anything for over sixty years.

 _I watched you die. I watched all of you die so peacefully._

He couldn't stop the thought that came, spiraling in his mind over and over.

 _Without me. Without me. Better off. Without me._

Peter couldn't stop trembling. His friends stared at him in concern. He wished he could say something, rather than looking so vulnerable.

But he was locked within his own broken mind. He wondered, for the first time in years, what might have become of his friends from the other timeline.

Dorian, Jade, Samantha, Jace.

No...they were dead, weren't they? They had died in the other timeline...thanks to him.

And Uncle Ben. He had died in the other timeline, thanks to him.

All those fights he'd had, who knew how many others had died?

"What's happening?" Nova yelled.

"He's going into shock!" Tiger growled. "Spidey! Spiderman snap out of it!"

"Wait, move! Can he breathe?" Powerman started trying to back everyone up.

Peter's vision was clouding. He shook harder, panicking.

 _Without me! Without me! BETTER OFF WITHOUT ME!_

"Peter come on! Say something!" Even Iron Fist's usually calm demeanor was breaking.

Peter's lungs heaved. His eyes drifted their own ways, and he lost all sense of orientation. He barely registered Fury storming into the scene. He barely registered being strapped to a gurney.

The world washed away in a blur of motion.

"He's having a panic attack!" Someone shouted.

Peter let himself float, listening to the beating of his own frantic heart. He felt a needle press into his arm, then darkness descended over him.

* * *

When Peter woke up he was in the med bay, wearing a hospital gown. Fury and his friends were talking to Doctor Connors with their backs to him.

"It's strange. His bones and muscles are incredibly frail. Like an old man's...and his brain seems to only be half functional. The part that controls movement isn't initiated as it should be..."

"Does that mean he's paralyzed?" Tiger asked quietly.

"We, we don't think so," Connors answered, "he should recover after some physical therapy. But we may need to use implants to help support his bones..."

"Surgery?" Fury said.

"Yes, but there's a chance we might not need to."

Peter listened with a heavy heart. He was fine. He knew he was fine. Just...rusty.

But he couldn't speak.

And even if he could, would it matter? Maybe surgery would be best. There was always the chance he could die during the operation.

His eyes drooped. He was pretty sure his friends were trying to talk to him now, asking how much he'd heard. But his mind was becoming foggy again. He spent the next hours drifting in and out of consciousness.

Each time he awoke there would be someone with him.

He lost track of the time. How long had he been back? Days? Weeks?

After a while he sensed there was another patient besides him. He heard the second bed being wheeled in. But he was in too much pain to look.

It was probably a SHIELD agent, wounded from some mission. He didn't care.

HE DIDN'T CARE!

"Peter?"

No! NO! He could feel himself coming back into consciousness. He didn't want to wake up. He wanted to sleep forever. Forever! Why wouldn't they leave him alone!

"Peter please open your eyes..."

Ha! As if he could willingly open his eyes! Whoever this patient was, they obviously didn't know much about his condition.

"I need to know that you're okay, before...before..."

Before what? What was this guy talking about? Was it a guy? No, didn't matter. Didn't matter.

 _LET ME SLEEP! LET ME DIE!_

"Peter tell me that you love me."

Peter's eyes opened. He was lying on his back, still staring at the white ceiling of the med bay. Useless. And he couldn't even close his own eyes again. Great. But then, there was something familiar about the patient's voice.

What had they said? 'Tell me you love me'? Why? What was going on?

"Be strong Peter. I can't tell you I understand what's happening to you, but believe me when I tell you it'll be okay."

Peter couldn't take it any longer. Emotion swelled in his chest. He just wanted to be alone. Tears sprung to his eyes and he suddenly felt sound pour out of his mouth.

"SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP I DON'T CARE!"

He was shocked. Yes! He had spoken. Not only that, but he had yelled. And it felt amazing!

"I don't know who you are but shut up and let me die here alone!" He growled.

The other patient spoke again and this time Peter could tell it was a woman. Her voice was choked by sobs.

"Peter don't you know who you're talking to?" She whispered.

 _Wait a second...Is that..._

"It's me, your Aunt May...Tell me you remember me," She cried.

"Aunt May?" Peter's joy vanished instantly. Questions filled up his thoughts. He had screamed at the one person he loved more than anything. The woman who was the equivalent to his mother.

"I'm so sorry," Peter rasped.

 _Why is she here? What does she know? I still can't move! I can't turn to see her!_

"Peter look at me."

"I, I can't. I'm so sorry I can't move Aunt May!"

"That's alright. I look pretty bad anyway," She chuckled, but she was interrupted by a wet cough.

"What happened?"

"I guess it was more than a little cold."

Peter's heart froze. He wanted to break down again. Why was this happening to him? Wish Master was gone! So why was this happening?

No. He knew why. It was punishment for being such a bad host.

"But, you're okay right? You have to be okay!"

"I asked Phil to move me here, instead of taking me to a regular hospital. I wanted to be by you in my final moments Peter."

"No! Aunt May don't talk like that! Please! You sound fine!" Peter yelled. But it was a lie. Even now he could hear her hacking and coughing besides him. He heard the wetness in her throat and smelled copper when she talked.

"It's okay Peter. It's okay. Just hearing your voice, makes it okay." She repeated. Peter felt her hand grab his. It squeezed, cold and veiny. He couldn't squeeze back.

Tears blurred the image of the ceiling over him. He shook.

"Please Aunt May...please..."

There was no answer. Only heavy breathing from the other bed. Then he felt her hand go limp in his.

 _No. Aunt May. Please no. NO!_

He strained every ounce of strength in his body, hanging on to some absurd hope that just being able to look at her would make her come back.

But he couldn't move. He had a voice. But he still could not move!

"AUNT MAY! AUNT MAY COME BACK! I LOVE YOU! I NEVER SAID I LOVE YOU!" He shrieked.

"I never said..." his voice trembled too much to finish. His heart burst into pieces.

 _I love you._

* * *

 **Aw! This made me sad to write! Hope you guys liked it! My friends are forcing me to watch Tokyo Ghoul, and the episode I was watching while writing this was super sad so that probably explains this chapter.**

 **Not sure how I feel about the show yet, to be honest. But they said it'd get better once Kaneki's hair went white. Anyway, I'm off topic. There's only one last chapter left guys!**

 **Wolf Out...**


	18. Kings

***Sigh* Here it is! The last chapter! To be honest I was playing around with the idea of having a sequel, but that's not going to happen. It would just feel forced. So enough ranting, enjoy!**

 **(Also we got to 100 reviews! Thanks so much for all the support)**

 **Reviews:**

 **Man285: Okay well I said there would be no promises on the relationship, but I have included it a bit. Of course it'd be a bit awkward to have them just immediately become a couple, but I still think you'll like what I did. ;)**

 **TheRandGirl: Um...sorry about how sad it was. I do actually enjoy misery (writing it, at least) a lot, but for this story I challenged myself to give it a happier ending. Also the watching his friends die thing, it says in that chapter that he did watch all of their deaths, but Ava's was the most impactful one to him and so it was the only one I decided to show. Anyway, I think you'll like this chapter a bit more, since it's much happier.**

 **New Prussia: Ha, well this chapter's a bit more cheerful. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **The Story's Shadow: Thanks for reviewing, enjoy the chapter!**

 **ArtemisBAMF1218: Sorry for the wait! Here it is! Oh and please, call me Wolf ;). I'm glad you're excited about this, and thanks for reviewing! (Also congratulations, you were 100th reviewer!)**

* * *

The funeral as short. Peter attended via wheelchair, heart ready to explode. His teammates stood besides him, dressed in black. It was a sunny day, birds chirping everywhere.

 _Ironic, isn't it?_

Ava and Sam cried. They had been closest to her, after Peter. Luke and Danny observed stoically, hands clenched into wavering fists. And Peter only stared. He was beginning to have control over his face. But only enough to blink, and twitch his nose.

So he watched his Aunt's funeral with a cold, unfeeling look. He was almost grateful. He didn't want his friends to see him break. Not again.

 _I'm so sorry._

Finally it was his turn to speak. Ava wheeled him to the front of the group. Peter cleared his throat. He wasn't ready. He couldn't do this.

"May Parker was the strongest woman in the world," He started, voice trembling. "And she always had room in her heart for one more person. She loved me. And she loved my Uncle Ben. Both of them lie here together. I...I...I'm going to miss them. A lot."

 _Come on Peter. Finish speaking!_

"I've seen so much death. So much misery, in the past years," He knew he sounded crazy, but he didn't care.

"And I wanted to acknowledge everyone who...left me..." He continued, "Jade Black. Dorian Sorbo. Jace Ward. Samantha Knipp. Uncle Ben. Aunt May. Thank you for everything you've done for me."

And with that, Ava wheeled him back to his spot. His friends stared at him carefully.

"Who were those people?" Sam whispered.

Peter ignored him. He wasn't ready to talk just yet.

He sat in silence for the rest of the ceremony, wishing he was alone. Wishing everyone would leave him and May alone.

And then, he got his wish.

"We'll come get you in two minutes," Ava whispered, wheeling him to sit right in front of the coffin. "I know you want some time with her."

"Thank you," Peter said. Everyone trickled out until it was just him. He took a deep breath.

"I can't move my body. I can't even move most of my face. My heart has been broken more times than I can count. And I have lived for thousands of years," he wasn't sure where he was going with this, but he knew it felt good.

"I was possessed by a parasitic demon, and then rejected because I couldn't even do that right," he chuckled. It sounded like a bad movie.

"I loved a girl who couldn't see me, and have been given a second chance. I, I hear you laughing at me but I promise I'm not kidding. I made new friends in another timeline. I laughed with them, and I even watched one get slightly drunk," Now Peter laughed. The memories flowed in, but for once, they were the good ones.

"I saved a little girl's life. And I became Spiderman for the second time. In one month I am turning eighteen. My name is Peter Parker," He grinned, tears mixing with his laughter.

He was sure that his friends could hear him, but he didn't care. He felt as if Aunt May was there, listening and laughing and telling him to look on the bright side.

But all too soon, the moment ended. Ava collected him and he joined the group on the way back to SHIELD.

* * *

"So," Sam whispered to Danny, "When do you think he's going to get better?"

Peter didn't move. He could hear everything they said, and he let their words slide off him.

"It is hard to tell. What's important is that we aid him in his recovery."

"Yeah but, I miss my pranking buddy...and it's weird seeing Web-Head so quiet."

"Patience Sam."

Peter sighed quietly. He wanted to get better. But, he wasn't sure how. Already his previous joy was fading. He couldn't help but wonder what would happen if he were to suddenly die.

 _Stop it. Stop thinking like that. That's selfish._

"I don't even have anyone to play video games with," Sam muttered.

"I can play."

"You're too good Danny. And Luke and Ava don't ever play. I miss beating Webs. Every time he'd lose he would ask for a sudden death round, and I would still beat him!"

"You should not talk about him in the past tense like that Sam. He isn't dead," Danny murmured.

"Yeah?" Sam suddenly shouted, voice cracking, "Because until he goes back to being himself then he might as well be!"

Peter heard him storm off. A door slammed somewhere behind him. Peter kept staring at the wall. Sam was right. All Peter had been doing was moping around. He might as well be dead.

 _Stop that! That's not what he meant!_

Peter felt his lungs heave, but no tears fell. His hands shook. Soft footsteps approached him.

"Danny?" He asked.

"Try again," A voice purred behind him.

"Oh. Hey Ava."

"Hey Pete," She walked to sit in front of him. Her brown eyes were full and sad, and Peter knew he was causing it.

"I'm not really in the mood for talking right now," He mumbled.

"Too bad. I am."

"Ava please," He begged, "I really can't do this right now."

"Look Peter, you're going to have to talk sometime. And the way you've been doing things isn't healthy."

"Maybe I don't want to be healthy. Maybe I don't give a sh—"

"Hey! Language! Remember, kids are watching," Ava chided. Peter stared at her and she laughed.

"You know, every time you say that I have no idea what it means," She whispered, taking his hand.

 _Huh, I never realized they actually listened so much._

Peter looked into her eyes. He wished he could hold her hand like she held his. His anger slowly dissipated.

"Ava, if you had a son, what would his name be?" He asked softly. Ava's eyebrows shot up, but she kept her gaze.

"What kind of a question is that?"

"Just curious."

"Um...well, if I had a son, I guess his name would be Alejandro or something like that."

Peter focused on the muscles in his face until he was able to form a smile. Ava gave him an odd look.

"What?"

"Nothing," Peter said huskily, "I just like that some things never change."

They spoke for a little while longer, Peter never telling about his misadventures. It was nice. Ava kept his mind from wandering. She kept him grounded in the world, purposely discussing every subject other than Peter's condition.

She told him about school, and how difficult the exams were. She told him about which colleges she'd applied to, and which ones he should apply to.

"I'm in the AP program so I'll be graduating a few months earlier than you guys, but we can still go to the same college. Sam is probably going to go to a cooking school when he gets out of high school. And you already know King Danny's plans. But I'm not really sure what Luke is doing," She ranted.

"That's...really great Ava," Peter chuckled.

"Also the prom is coming up and I have the perfect dress in mind but it's way over my budget. It's blue and black, with some glitter on the hemming and it goes down to the floor—"

"Did anyone ask you?" Peter asked. He hadn't been back in school since Wish Master had left him.

"Oh, no. But about a million girls practically attacked Danny! You should have seen how red he was!"

Peter laughed, and for once it wasn't empty. Ava grinned, eyes glittering.

"Hey, I want to show you something."

She grabbed his wheelchair handles and pushed him through the steel-plated hallways. The wheels clicked along the ground. They exited the main living room of the team and turned into the corridor that held their rooms.

Ava stopped pushing.

"Notice anything?"

Peter stared. There didn't seem to be anything different. There was a line of doors with different logos.

One with the jade amulet symbol, one with the nova helmet, one with sunglasses, one with a Chinese dragon, and one...

One with the same spider logo emblazoned on his suit.

 _What's going on?_

"Is that..." He rasped.

"It's yours," Ava smirked, "Only if you want it. We just thought it might be lonely, living all alone in that house..."

"No, it's, it's great," Peter said, "I just, don't know if I could stay here all the time. The house does need to be looked after. But, this is amazing."

"Well, now when you sleep here it won't have to be on the couch," Ava said, though Peter could detect a slight hint of disappointment in her tone.

"Yeah."

 _If I ever manage to sleep properly again._

"Do you want to go in?"

"Oh um, not just yet," Peter answered, "I actually have an appointment with Doc Connors for physical therapy."

"Right, sure. I'll take you," Ava said awkwardly. They set off and settled into silence. Peter talked with himself in his mind.

 _Why didn't you tell her about everything?_

 _When will you talk to them?_

 _Huh Peter? When!_

He wondered how they would react. Ava would probably be embarrassed, and in denial. Luke would be equally ashamed, and would probably voice it. Sam would be crushed, but he would never show it. And Danny would be in silent torment.

No. He could never tell them. He could never tell them that it was so easy. Just a few different choices. A few different events. And they would have been completely different.

The worst possible versions of themselves.

Yes, Peter decided, he'd simply have to bare that pain alone.

"Peter?"

All alone. As usual.

"Hey, Pete!"

Nothing would ever change that.

"Peter snap out of it!"

Peter blinked, finding a small spark of joy that it was becoming easier to move his eyes. Doctor Connors was waving his hand in front of Peter's face. They were in the therapy room.

"Sorry Doc," Peter mumbled.

"Are you alright? You zoned out on me."

"I'm fine. I was just thinking about things."

The doctor gave him a sympathetic glance.

"Well that's to be expected. Shall we start our exercises?"

"Sure."

And they did. Peter was getting better at triggering his muscles, and he could even stand up for a few seconds at a time.

There was talk that he might be going back to school soon. Peter wasn't sure he was quite ready for that, but maybe eventually.

He still thought about his other friends. On one of the rare times he was allowed to go out, he could have sworn he'd seen a couple that looked exactly like Dorian and Jade.

He had forced Sam to wheel him to them.

"Guys!" He had practically squealed.

"Um, hi...do we know you?" Dorian asked.

"Well, not in this timeline, but you did! You guys should join SHIELD, your powers could be really useful," Peter ranted. Sam nearly had a heart attack and quickly slammed his hand over Peter's mouth.

"We don't have any powers, I think you might be a little confused," Jade smiled nervously.

"Yep, totally confused!" Sam had said, "He's on some medication right now. Come on Peter, let's go!"

 _I wonder if that had really been them, or at least, this timeline's version of them..._

Peter remembered that day well, and whenever he went out he always looked for some shadow of his other team.

Yes. Always looking for something. But that was just how he was. Lost. But he didn't really mind and he wasn't planning on fixing it.

Maybe he would never find whatever he was looking for, but maybe it didn't really matter. He was home.

His body was slowly healing and so far everything was okay. And, judging by the papers, it actually seemed like the people of New York missed Spiderman.

He just wished that everyone would stop talking about Wish Master though.

"He's still out there."

"We need to find him so he can't do this to anyone ever again."

"Yeah but how are we even going to catch him? Dude's invincible."

Peter hated it. No one would ever just _catch_ the Wish Master, because it was impossible. And maybe no one needed to. After all, he only used one person every few lifetimes or so. Was that really so bad? And it was the hosts' fault that he was still alive anyway, letting him into their minds.

Yeah, Wish Master wasn't so bad.

 _Not so bad. Not so bad. I NEED HIM BACK!_

 _No. Stop it. You need to heal. Move forward. He's gone..._

 _COME BACK!_

Sometimes it felt as if there was a chessboard in his head. And he was always playing, and always losing. No matter which side he controlled.

Those were his down days. The days that made him feel as if there was a heavy blanket around his shoulders, smothering him. The rainy days where all he wanted to do was hide from everyone.

But there were up days too. Shiny, bright days full of friends and laughter and memories.

Peter smiled. He was lying down in his new SHIELD room, stretched on a red and blue bed. The door was open a crack, just so he could shout out for someone to help him.

It was so strange, calling another room home. But he had to admit it was nice.

He heard the familiar click clack of boots in the hallway.

"Hey," Peter called out. The boots stopped walking and Ava stuck her head in.

"Yeah Peter? Do you want anything?"

Peter stared hard at her, taking in every detail. There was so much he wanted to say.

"Um, no. Never mind."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I'm good."

She left and Peter was able to smile.

"I love you," He whispered to the air. He would tell her eventually. He had plenty of time.

He watched the TV that hung on his wall and felt his heart warm up. Things would be okay. It was over.

The pain. The trauma. The misery. All of it was over.

* * *

 _There's stillness here but I don't care_

Peter wheeled himself through Central Park. Tomorrow was his eighteenth birthday and he had only regained control of his upper body. The doctors said he would be able to move his legs soon enough, and all he needed to do was wait.

 _The wind's left poison in the air_

He watched the flower petals fall from the trees. Summer was finally here. He looked down at the thinness of his thighs. It would be hard to get back into super-heroing after he healed. But Spiderman was coming back, whether anyone wanted him to or not.

 _And everyone is singing songs, but me_

Peter kept going, down the paths that winded around the lake. Kids tossed Frisbees to their dogs. Teens kissed on the benches. And old women stuffed the pigeons with crackers and bits of bread.

 _But some birds weren't born with wings!_

Peter grinned at the normalcy of things. He marveled at the city that he knew would eventually turn old and grey. There was so much pain everywhere. And he finally understood that he couldn't fix everything. But he could be happy, and try to help whenever he could.

 _And not all crowns are worn by kings!_

He'd been going back to school. It was horrible at first. Everyone stared at him in morbid curiosity and awkward pity. But people were getting used to it. And it wasn't like it was forever.

 _So pack your bags for o'er the bend!_

He wheeled himself faster and faster, enjoying the breeze. Peter laughed to himself. Yeah. He'd be fine. It would just take some time.

 _We'll rule the whole world in the end!_

He had his friends. He had the girl he loved, well, almost had her. And most importantly, he had a life ahead of him.

 _We'll rule the whole world in the end!_

And this time, _this_ life, he wasn't going to waste it. No matter how unimportant he might be in this world. No matter how many people would be better off with him dead. He was going to live and he was going to live well. For a long, long time.

 _Rule the whole world in the end..._

"Jade, you're invited to my party," Peter listed quietly, "Jace, you're invited. And you Dorian, and Samantha you too. And Uncle Ben, you're invited. And...and you Aunt May. You're all invited."

 _Pack your bags for o'er the bend, we'll rule the whole world in the end..._

Peter smiled at the sky, picturing each of their faces and countless others. He looked forward to tomorrow.

"Yeah, you're all invited," He repeated, "See you there."

* * *

 **Aw! That's it guys! I'm quite proud of myself for this, since most of you might know that I usually hate writing happy endings. Seriously, this is probably only the second story on this entire website _ever_ where I wrote a happy ending. So I hope you enjoyed it! The song lyrics are by me. Please review and maybe suggest things for a new story, since Summer is coming up!**

 **But for now,**

 **Wolf Out!**


End file.
